Africa-Press – Namibia. THE trade forum says its aim to bring products from small and medium enterprises to the continental market is coming to fruition, as the continent is making strides towards increasing intra-Africa trade flows.
This is according to the Namibia Trade Forum (NTF) chief executive officer Stacy Pinto, who also serves on the national committee for the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
Speaking on ‘Breakfast in the Desert’ on Desert Radio on Wednesday, Pinto detailed that Namibia has now ratified the agreement, which is trying to create an enabling policy environment that allows African countries to trade more with one another and add value to their local products.
“The negotiations are almost done and there is talk about a potential pilot project that’s going to start trading under the AfCFTA,” she said.
NTF is an agency of the Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade, created particularly to encourage consultation with the private sector on matters related to trade, trade policy and investment. Among the forum’s targets for the year is seeing the completion of the small and medium enterprise (SME) policy, which Pinto said will show the intention of government regarding enabling SMEs.
Regarding the widening of the horizon for not only local products, but those of SMEs as well, Pinto said the impending rollout of Namibia’s product identification code, called a prefix, will position Namibian products to be uniquely identifiable on global retail shelves. Namibia received its licence to administer its own product barcode in May last year, which will be rolled out in the coming months. This prefix is 631 and will be seen on all products made in Namibia.
“What a barcode for Namibia means is that if that [product] was produced in Namibia, it would have 631. So, that means we can identify our products across the market, the global market. It gives our product an identity and it encourages our local industry…,” she said.
She explained that prior to this, 90% of the barcodes across the country used the 600 prefix, denoting that they had been produced in South Africa.
According to Pinto, the emphasis on intra-continental trade offers a great opportunity, not only for Namibia, but also all African countries. The efforts of the continental trade agreement will allow the region to add value to its products rather than seeing value added to its products outside its borders.
Pinto also highlighted the importance of having women in leadership positions in the trade industry to drive efforts in encouraging women traders and producers, and ensuring that policies accommodate their needs.
“Having women in trade positions I, is critical not only for our own career progression but also for women who are trading at the lower level – women who are farmers, women who are producing stuff.
“If we have a more laudable voice at the trade negotiating tables, we are going to start asking questions on why doesn’t this policy promote women and farming? Why doesn’t this policy promote women and production?” she stressed.
Pinto said currently the voice of women is not strong in the trade sector, and policy regarding trade and production by women is not specific.
“If you have a piece of law that its not particularly clear about what its stance is on women, then it’s difficult for you to invoke it because you almost have nothing to stand on.
“So, having more women in these positions is very important because that way we inadvertently open up streams for other women who are in business and women who are trying to export,” she said.
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