Farouk Gumel - Despite long-standing recognition of the benefits of trade and the importance of improving competitiveness, Africa is performing beneath its potential in global and regional agricultural markets. Recent export growth has been offset by even larger growth in imports, caused by a booming population. More than 60 percent of the population of sub-Saharan Africa are smallholder farmers, and about 23 percent of sub-Saharan Africa’s GDP comes from agriculture. Yet, Africa’s full agricultural potential remains untapped. This has led to a deterioration of Africa’s trade balance. Intraregional trade, on the other hand, is growing but remains significantly below the levels seen in other parts of the world.
Africa still has strong comparative advantages in many products which include traditional cash crops like coffee, cocoa, and tea, as well as new products like legumes, pulses, and sesame seeds. Some of these products are becoming the main staples of many African countries, including those classified as least developed countries (LDC). Many nations have started positioning themselves as specialists/centers of excellence in the production of exportable commodities. For example, Ghana and Ivory Coast are focusing on Cocoa, Comoros is focusing on spices and essential oils; Burundi and Rwanda on coffee and tea, and many more.
To prove this, I have summarised Africa’s global leadership position on Tea, Cocoa, Cashew, and Sesame for now. Below are some statistics.
Tea - Kenya has remained the leading African tea producer and boasted an output of over 440,000 tons of tea. Combined with other East and Central African nations, Africa is now the second-biggest grower of tea in the world, producing tea of high quality and good bright colors which are used for blending all over the world. In 2018, African tea exports accounted for 23% of the world’s internationally traded teas.
Cocoa - Some 70 percent of the world's cocoa beans come from four West African countries Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, and Cameroon. The Ivory Coast and Ghana are by far the two largest producers of cocoa, accounting for more than 50 percent of the world's cocoa production.
Cashew - African farmers currently grow 48% of the world’s cashews annually. Ivory Coast, Tanzania, Guinea Bissau, and Nigeria contribute much to it. Africa is now the largest producer of raw nuts with more than one million tons of production.
Sesame - 59.4% of the world’s sesame is produced in Africa. As a region, Africa has quickly risen as the top producer and exporter passing India. Growth in production is mainly from Tanzania and Ethiopia.
One thing that is common amongst the 4 commodities above is most of the exports are in raw form. Little or no processing happens within Africa. This means as Africa exports the raw materials, the continent is also exporting all the jobs associated with processing, manufacturing, and packaging. Raw cashew nuts for example are sold to Asian countries where significant value addition takes place before exporting the premium product to the US and European markets at higher rates. Of course, Asian nations also want to create jobs. But there is a need for a balance. Africa’s population rate is growing at a faster rate than the jobs we are creating. Unless a proper balance is struck, we will end up in a vicious circle of insecurity, hopelessness, and poverty.
Farouk Gumel said, “TGI’s projects try to strike this balance where we aim to create jobs in both the producer and consumer nations”. Farouk Gumel adds that “as our business operations are located in both Asia and Africa, we are able to maintain an equilibrium that creates a win-win”. TGI’s investments focus on driving inclusivity and value addition using locally sourced raw materials, state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities, and a highly-skilled workforce to produce world-class products. Farouk Gumel added, “TGI for example splits its cashew operations between the Benin Republic, Nigeria, and India. We have identified ways of meeting consumer needs while maximizing our impact within the producer nations. The key now is for the political leaders to also find ways of enhancing collaboration to ensure this win-win is sustained”.
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