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US agro-processing companies to explore investment
opportunities in West/Central Africa
Accra, March 10, Ghanadot/GNA – Representatives of 16
agro-processing companies from America have begun a meeting
in Accra to explore trade and investment opportunities in
West and Central Africa as well as meet with more than 100
African agribusiness representatives from the region.
The US Agribusiness and Trade and Investment Mission, the
first of its kind to the region, would also allow
participants to engage in one-to-one discussions in the
areas of horticultural products, sea food, bio-fuel, poultry
and meat products among others.
Speaking at the forum, Ms Pamela Bridgewater, the US
Ambassador, said West and Central Africa offered excellent
market opportunities for American trade and investment while
the US provided excellent market for African products.
She said the private sector was the engine for economic
growth, especially trade and investment, and the US
government was ready to facilitate and support these
initiatives in collaboration with West and Central African
partners.
Ms Constance Jackson, Associate Administrator, Foreign
Agricultural Service, said West and Central Africa had great
potential for agribusiness growth and increased agricultural
trade and investment partnerships.
Trade between the United States and West and Central African
countries increased in 2007 by nearly 25 per cent to more
than 1.22 billion dollars.
“Over the next few days, US and West and Central African
companies will learn about each country’s trade
opportunities, impediments, business practices, and
government programmes,” she said.
Ms Jackson encouraged the US and African company
representatives to take advantage of the unique opportunity
to expand trade and investment partnerships.
“Our goal is to encourage food and agribusiness growth and
private sector linkages.”
Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas, President of the ECOWAS Commission,
said there was the urgent need to create a platform for the
total growth of the agriculture sector because of its
strategic importance to the economy of most countries.
“As a region, we must endeavour to produce more to feed
ourselves, provide new materials for our local industries
and engage in value-added processing for export,” he said.
He stressed the need to remove barriers to trade among the
countries in the region to step up intra-regional trade.
There is also the need to work with the partners such as the
US to remove supply-side constraints to expand agricultural
exports, address low production capacity, poor
infrastructure, meeting standards and adopting modern
techniques among others.
Mr J.H. Mensah, Chairman of the National Development
Planning Commission, said the agricultural sector in Africa
needed drastic technological transformation to stimulate
increased production.
However, he said, this did not call for wholesale
importation of agricultural technology.
GNA
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