March 9, 2007

African grain experts to discuss commodity trade
 

African experts in the grain industry are scheduled to meet in Nairobi, Kenya in April to discuss ways of streamlining cross border trade in grains, mainly corn and other commodities across the continent, according to the organizers.

Organizers said the April 18 to 19 African Grain Trade Summit would bring together government officials and industry players to explore ways of exchanging grain trade information.

Stephen Njukia, a commodity specialist with the Regional Agricultural Trade Expansion Support Program (RATES) said the summit will also bring together members of the Eastern Africa Grain Council, which includes the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the East African Community (EAC) and regional security exchanges.

Experts say streamlining the grain industry could bolster efforts to establish a regional commodity exchange once the countries in Eastern, Central and Southern Africa agree on modalities of operating a regional grain warehouse.

Njukia told media the meeting will discuss the promotion of corn trade and harmonisation of corn standards for Africa to come up with COMESA corn standard to which the country does not currently have.

He said grain trade in Africa has been severely hampered by the lack of proper roads to promote regional commodity trade, noting that while some countries had good roads, the free movement of commodities was impossible in most countries in the continent.

The organizers said the meeting will also be attended by some 300 delegates from the United States, India, Middle East and African countries to discuss the future of the industry and challenges hindering its growth.

According to Anne Mbaabu, the Executive Director of the East African Grain Council, the experts expected at the meeting would help in tackling the malfunctions in the grain industry and the lack of a defined structure in regional trade.

She said the meeting would discuss trade finance, the cost of doing business, which impacts negatively on the grain trade and the role of the private sector in regional trade.