The Economic Commission for Africa will hold a panel discussion on the current edition of the Economic Report on Africa (ERA) 2015, launched in March this year on the theme, Industrializing through trade. The session will take place during the Global Development Network's Annual Conference, to be held in Casablanca, Morocco, 11-13 June 2015.

"The event is being organized against the backdrop of recent debates on commodity-based industrialization and the important role industrial policy can play in shaping Africa's structural transformation; and the need for a strong relationship between trade and industrialization, as well as the role and place of trade and trade policy in the industrialization process, have been strongly emphasized," says Adam Elhiraika, Director of Macroeconomic Policy Division at the ECA.

The session will include a presentation by Mr. Elhiraika on the key findings and policy recommendations of the Report, which will be followed by a panel discussion on the opportunities and challenges of trade as a driver of industrialization in Africa.

Building on past editions, this year's report states that African countries show high participation rates in global value chains, but are mostly confined to very low levels, driven by exports of raw material. It notes that intra-African trade in intermediate goods, which is significantly more diversified than the corresponding trade of Africa with the rest of the world, offers opportunities for the creation of regional production networks that could lead to increased value addition and rapid industrialization. However, currently African countries sources 88 per cent of their imported inputs from outside the continent.

"Our analysis shows that trade policy has an important role in reversing this trend and promoting trade in intermediates. Using appropriate trade policy tools can encourage the joining, creating, and upgrading of economic activities along value chains, says Mr. Elhiraika.

He notes that such tools can also support the development of capacity to add value to different products. "For instance, a strategic and selective trade policy framework can be a key tool for trade-induced industrialization, states Elhiraika, who also explains that the sequencing of trade policy reforms, taking into account the imbalances in the current trade relationships, can create a conducive environment for the development of regional value chains."

He stresses that boosting intra-African trade and its industrial content could be achieved rapidly through the implementation of a Continental Free Trade Area. This would contribute to removing all tariff barriers on goods still remaining within Africa and tackling those related to services trade.

The Economic Report on Africa is an annual flagship publication of ECA. Download a copy here: http://www.uneca.org/publications/economic-report-africa-2015

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