Regional integration in Africa remains low: report

CAPE TOWN, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Despite tremendous political support for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), regional integration in Africa remains low, according to a report released here Sunday.

There are still major challenges ahead to meet the goal of increasing intra-African trade to 25 percent by 2023 from the current 15-18 percent, said the 2019 African Regional integration Index report.

The index, set up to monitor and evaluate the status of economic integration among African countries, provides a basis for member states to track their progress.

The report cites weak productive capacity, high production costs, large infrastructure deficits and other challenges that affect Africa's competitiveness, which is compounded by a number of small markets and 16 landlocked countries.

"We cannot gloss over the challenges, but it is important to underscore the fact that we must change things if Africa is to progress," said Leila Mokadem, representative in Morocco for the African Development Bank.

The report reveals that the Southern African Development Community is the most integrated region on the continent in terms of trade, with South Africa the most integrated country while South Sudan the least.

Meanwhile, integration in services contributed more than 53 percent of the continent's gross domestic product, but ratification of the protocol on free movement of people has been slow.

The continent's large infrastructure deficit remains a major hindrance to intra-regional trade, according to the report.

The AfCFTA is a trade agreement between 49 African Union member states, aiming to create a single continental market with free movement and single currency. If implemented, it would result in a net gain of 2.8 billion U.S. dollars for Africans.