Experts discussed the possibility of increasing the export of Kazakh products to Africa | Company News | Export insurance company «KazakhExport»

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Experts discussed the possibility of increasing the export of Kazakh products to Africa

Addis Ababa, November 8, 2022 -  The Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Ethiopia, together with the «Center for the Development of Trade Policy «QazTrade» of the Ministry of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the specialized insurance organization JSC «Export Insurance Company «KazakhExport», the Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce and Industry held a seminar on: «Trade and investment promotion between Kazakhstan and Ethiopia».

The event, held in a hybrid format, was attended by representatives of the business circles of Addis Ababa, interested in the supply of Kazakh goods to the market of Ethiopia and other African countries, as well as in the development of bilateral trade and exports of Ethiopian coffee, fruits, spices, plants, flowers, etc.

In his speech, the Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan Barlybay Sadykov acquainted the seminar participants with the course of economic reforms of President K.Tokayev, conducted in the country in the context of creating a new, fair and inclusive Kazakhstan, based on the principles of socio-economic justice, intolerance to corruption, fair and equitable competition and efficient allocation of resources.

Deputy Secretary General of the Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce and Industry Associations Zekarias Assefa noted the great potential for increasing mutual trade between Ethiopia and Kazakhstan.

«With a population of more than 120 million people, Ethiopia is the largest market among the countries of East Africa, and an aviation transit hub on the African continent, with convenient access to the market of the East African Community. We expect an increase in trade turnover with Kazakhstan», - the representative of AACCIA said.

In addition, Z.Assefa proposed to organize direct meetings between interested businessmen of Kazakhstan and Ethiopia.

«At the initial stage, it is important for us to establish a permanent channel of information exchange between the Chambers of commerce and industry of the two countries as soon as possible, including about the planned major international events, exhibitions and fairs at which our manufacturers can participate. We also propose to organize a Kazakh trade mission to Ethiopia, during which to hold B2B meetings between exporters and importers of Kazakhstan and Ethiopia», - he said.

Mr. Galym Nurgazinov, Director of the Project Development Department of JSC «Center for Development of Trade Policy «QazTrade» of the MTI of Kazakhstan, and Mrs. Armana Bekbasova, Director of the Department of International Cooperation of JSC «Export Insurance Company «KazakhExport», made a presentation on the trade, economic and investment potential of Kazakhstan at the seminar.

The information presented by the Kazakh participants aroused great interest among businessmen of Ethiopia, who made proposals for the development of cooperation with Kazakhstan, establishing direct contacts with businessmen of our country, creating joint ventures, and asked practical questions concerning doing business with Kazakhstan.

According to Mr. Tadesse Sisay, Managing Director of the «Sendros» trading company, today it is necessary to solve the main barrier in trade - logistics issues.

«We learned today that Kazakhstan has significant trade opportunities. Your products may be in great demand in the Ethiopian market. In my opinion, the main task is to build logistics routes for the mutual supply of goods», - T.Sisay said.

Mr. Ermeyas Asfaw, General Manager of «Edcon» PLC, spoke about his plans for cooperation with Kazakhstan.

«Our company is interested in importing plastic and other petrochemical products from your country. These goods are in great demand in Ethiopia and we hope to find reliable partners in your country», - he said.

In general, the experts confirmed significant opportunities for the growth of mutual trade between Kazakhstan and Ethiopia, and also decided to work closely to eliminate such barriers as the lack of direct communications to support trade, the lack of information about differences in technical standards, permits and accompanying documents, the development and proposal of mutually beneficial logistics routes for the supply of goods.

The seminar participants expressed interest in working together in these areas. In this regard, the parties will assist in organizing meetings and finding partners to increase bilateral trade.

 


For reference: The African market is very interesting for Kazakhstani goods in view of the growing volume of the African market (according to experts, by 2030 the population of Africa will be 2 billion people) and the high demand for our goods.

The trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Ethiopia in January - September 2022 amounted to 280.6 thousand US dollars, which is 2.9 times higher than in the same period of the previous year (95.7 thousand US dollars). Almost 100% of the turnover is accounted for by the import of Ethiopian goods to Kazakhstan, such as coffee, live plants, flowers, vegetables, clothing and textiles.

At the same time, Ethiopia annually imports large volumes of groups of goods that can be supplied from Kazakhstan, such as: - bars of iron or non-alloy steel, fertilizers containing nitrogen and phosphorus, lead batteries, sunflower or safflower oil, fittings for pipelines, plates, sheets, film, from propylene polymers, semi-destroyed or crumbled rice, other cuts, meat, etc.

In general, the growth of the trade turnover of Kazakhstan with Ethiopia corresponds to the general trend of the growth of the trade turnover of Kazakhstan with all African countries. In January-September 2022, this figure amounted to $849.2 million. And grew 1.3 times compared to the same period in 2021 ($380 million). Moreover, Kazakhstan's exports of goods to African countries are growing faster and exceed imports from Africa. Thus, Kazakhstan's exports to Africa amounted to 624.6 million US dollars (increased 1.8 times), imports amounted to 224.6 million US dollars (increased by 40%).

Information taken from the portal www.gov.kz