African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretary General Wamkele Mene says the major challenge facing the trade pact is the cost of infrastructure to support trade.
Mene is quoted in the State-run Ethiopian News Agency saying the deficit is estimated at $150 billion, hindering the ability to trade in larger volumes across the continent.
Nevertheless, he said the AfCFTA has gained momentum, as 48 countries have deposited their instruments of AfCFTA ratification, adding that trade among 19 African countries under the AfCFTA rules is underway.
“We have made progress on key issues, including on tariff reduction and on the list of goods to be traded within Africa,” he said.
The Malawi Government recognises the AfCFTA as an opportunity to achieve its goal of expanding and diversifying the export products and services at regional and global levels under the National Export Strategy II.
Earlier, Minister of Trade and Industry Sosten Gwengwe said Malawi was banking on safeguards in the AfCFTA to grow local industries and reap from the continental trade pact.
The AfCFTA is probably the world’s largest free trade area bringing together 55 countries and eight regional economic communities to create a single market for the continent.
The trade bloc has 1.3 billion people and combined gross domestic product of about $3.4 trillion.
