African trade f lows
are heading south,
according to a report by the
United National Economic
Commission for Africa (UN
ECA).
Speaking at the opening of
the ninth Africa Development
Forum hosted in Morocco
in October, Inyang Ebong-
Harstrup, deputy director of
UN Office for South-South
Cooperation, said: “I believe
there is a deep sense that
south-south should be the
foundation for Africa.”
One of the themes at the 2014
African Development Forum
was new forms of partnership.
Global economic trends ref lect
the ongoing geopolitical and
economic rebalancing in favour
of developing and emerging
economies, particularly Brazil,
China and India, all of which
call for stronger South-South
partnerships, according to the
UN ECA.
An ECA report reveals
that Africa’s imports from
developing countries have
increased from 26-43% over
15 years, and exports from
33-50% of the total.
In 2011 African trade
with the BRICS countries
(a combined 24% of total)
overtook the United States
(17%) as Africa’s secondbiggest
trading partner after
the European Union, according
to ECA figures.
BRICS-Africa trade grew by
70% between 2008 and 2013,
according to Standard Bank’s
Simon Freemantle.
While African export
growth to BRICS countries
slowed in 2013, Standard
Bank calculated that African
imports from China and India
each lifted by around 10% in
2013.
“Clearly, robust demand
from fast-growing African
economies is wedded to
industrial output from the
BRICS,” said Freemantle in a
report written earlier this year.
INSERT
70% The growth in BRICS-Africa trade
between 2008 and 2013
