Also coming to Expo 2012 :
Senegal looking to synergise with Sri Lanka
Senegal, shifting gears from its slower GDP growth in 2011 to a
faster rate in 2012, wants to establish trade and manufacturing
synergies with Sri Lanka. Considered to be stable, and located at the
tip of West Africa being the only African country to avoid any military
coup (which otherwise is a common occurrence in the African continent)
or any form of ethno-religious violence so far, it has been rated by
Standard and Poor’s as a B+.
“Time has come to strengthen trade between Sri Lanka and the West
African hub Senegal from its current levels. Expo 2012 mega show in
Colombo in March provides the stepping stone towards this” said Industry
and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen after the courtesy call on him
by newly appointed Ambassador of the Republic of Senegal to Sri Lanka
Amadou Moustapha recently in Colombo.
Minister Rishad Bathiudeen with Ambassador of the Republic of
Senegal to Sri Lanka Amadou Moustapha |
Minister Bathiudeen also invited strong business and industry
delegations from Senegal to Sri Lanka Expo 2012, the mega expo show to
be held in Colombo after 15 years in March. Amadou Moustapha has
accepted Minister Bathiudeen’s invitation.
The $ 13 billion Senegal economy is considered as West Africa’s
trading hub. It is expected to grow at a rate of 4.4% in 2012 speeding
up from its 4% rate in 2011.
According to the Commerce Department, the total trade between both
countries in 2009 stood at $ 0.17 million, then rising to $ 0.45 million
in 2010. Of the $0.45 million of total trade in 2010’s, imports totalled
only a paltry $ 0.01 million (in 2009, no imports from Senegal was
recorded). The Commerce Department also revealed that there has been a
small trade volume between Sri Lanka and Senegal over the past five
years with the balance of trade in favour of Sri Lanka from 2009 to
2010. Tea is the main export item from Sri Lanka while imports of a few
items from Senegal in small quantities have been recorded. “There is a
need to maintain a continuous export flow and to explore the
possibilities of increasing the volume of existing trade” Minister
Bathiudeen said.
“Sri Lanka has reported 8.4% GDP growth in 2011 third quarter,
showing that the development policies of President Mahinda Rajapaksa,
are on track” Minister Bathiudeen said. The low levels of current trade
between Sri Lanka and Senegal show scope for strong trade growth between
the two countries” Minister Bathiudeen said addressing Amadou Moustapha.
The potential export products from Sri Lanka are ceramic products
(tableware and kitchenware), printed books, natural rubber and rubber
products, brooms and brushes, umbrellas, sunshades, walking sticks,
whips, precious and semi precious stones, parts of furniture, fish,
crustaceans and mollusks (crabs), glass and glassware, moulds for rubber
or plastic, and textile and clothing.
“The hub outlook of Sri Lanka and Senegal reveals strong synergy
potentials” said, Amadou Moustapha addressing Minister Bathiudeen. “Sri
Lankan apparel manufacturers can use Senegal as a production base to
reach the North American markets easily and can perform back-end
operations in Senegal.
They can use Senegal’s preferential access options such as EU/ACP,
African Growth & Opportunity Act (AGOA), the West African Economic and
Monetary Union, to their advantage in increasing North American and EU
market share” added Amadou Moustapha.
According to the US Office of Textile and Apparel (OTEXA), the U.S.
African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) “offers significant potential
growth for the local textile and apparel industries with duty-free,
quota free access to the U.S. for products made up of either U.S. or
sub-Saharan African produced fabric or yarn. “51% of our population is
youth under 20 years. Our close proximity towards North American markets
and also our air-links and sea links can be used by Sri Lankan firms for
prompt shipping and delivery of their products for North America” he
added.
“We also import the bulk of our textiles and apparels from Eastern
Asia” Amadou Moustapha stressed. Taking note of the statement of Amadou
Moustapha that Senegal is importing the bulk of its textile
requirements, Minister Bathiudeen responded: “Being located in South
Asia, and renowned world over for our apparels, Sri Lanka can serve
Senegal’s apparel needs better” to which Amadou Moustapha agreed.
“Senegal’s strong SMEs can also synergize with Sri Lanka’s SME sector”
Amadou Moustapha added. |