Zambian exports to U.S. face problems

Access by Zambian goods to the United States market under the African Growth Opportunity Act ( AGOA) has not succeeded because of the uncompetitiveness of Zambian products, Times of Zambia quoted Tuesday AGOA trade advisor Amanda Hilligas as saying in Lusaka.

The AGOA trade advisor told a seminar on the theme "doing business with U.S." that there are few Zambian products that could compete with other products on the American market.

She said that Zambian exports are at a disadvantage on the U.S. market because of factors like quantity, quality, the cost of transportation, pricing and the category of the products.

She urged the private sector in Zambia to work hard to enable the country to benefit from AGOA initiative.

The economic development for Zambia and its success in penetrating the American market through AGOA is dependent on the effort of the private sector, she said.

But Zambia Export Growers Association Chairman Luke Mbewe said at the seminar that the U.S. should not decide on behalf of Zambian exporters what products are competitive or uncompetitive on that market.

The U.S. market should give Zambian exporters a chance through the necessary permits to export so that they could make their own judgment about the competitiveness of their goods on the market.

Zambian export have effectively been unable to penetrate the American market because of being subject to many administrative barriers, such as stringent and elaborate sanitary and phytosanitary requirements, Mbewe said.

Zambia has a lot of things to sell to the U.S. market, which it is selling to other markets without the administrative barriers, said Siazongo Siakalenga, director of industry of the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry.

AGOA offers duty-free treatment on some goods and other trade benefits to the poorer countries of sub-Saharan Africa. Thirty- seven of the 48 countries of sub-Saharan Africa qualify for AGOA.

Source: Xinhua