Existing and potential products for trade between African Countries

, ^{" , •}

UNITED NATIONS

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL

ECONOMIC COIlMISSION FOR AFRICA

Distr.

LDdITED

"/cN

⁰14/1>1P.1

/132

5

November

1980

ENGLISH

Original: ENGLISH

EXISTING AND POTENTIAL PRoroCT.3 FOR 'lRADE BET\fEEN AFRICA.c'f COUNTRIES

Export Potential and. llarkets of the African liood-1Iorking Industry and of Other M<~nufactures (Tea, Coffee and

Commercial Fertilizers)

(PART II)

•

TABLE OF CCNTENTS

I. INTRODu::::I'ION

A. Africa's forest .... sources B. Rmmdwood supply and trade

C. The mechallical wood working industry in Africa, its production and export potential D. The chemical wood-working industry in

Africa

E. Printing paper and writing-paper F. ~.frapping and packing paper

II. OTHER MANUFACTURERS A. Tea

B. Coffee

C. Comme rcd.aL fertilizers

III. SUMMARY OF PROSPBJTS FOR UlTRA-AFRICAN TRADE IN THE PRODUCTS ll!CLUDED 11'1 THE SURVEY

Pages

1 - 2

3 - 4 4

-11

11-13 14-16 16-18

18-21

21-26

2.6-28

29

•

I. IJrT:lOJUCTIOT

A. Africa's forest resources

1, Africa'" forest reserves, which :ropresent the base of both the mechanical

and the

'~l)elT,ical wood working industries, were

In 1975

estimated at

640.9

million h'3ctares=t,ompared to total world reserves in forest and woodlands estimated at L, 156.3 mi.Lk Lon hectares. In this respect, Africa ranks third after South, k.lar-lciC (~ 029.3 million hectares) and North Central America

(736.4

million h3ctares). The distribution of resources as bet>leen H~ljIt and Central Africa 3;,~

..

j ,-,;~l'con hectares and Eastern. and Southern Africa=:!

2':15.4

million hectare"

was almost equal woore individu,,-l countries are concerned, Zaire ranks first, '"HI: ~ropical >/Ood reserves covering 121.07 million hectares follo>led by _~

?~all

91.5

million hectares" Angola

7.7

million hectares, Zambia

37.3

millio~

hectares, the United Republic of Tarzania 31.1 million hectares and Nigeria 31.1 nri L'li.or. hectares. Central and especially \'Jest Africa contain by far the largest remainL1g urrtapped indigeneous forest reserves in the continent.

north Africa, being at present a net importer of raw material for the vood-.

;'-orking industry, has adopted the policy of establishing industrial forest p.Larrbat Lonc to provide homogeneous raw material for that industry. The same oolicy is being "dopted in some of fhe. main 1<000 producers in the Eastern

~fricao: region, esp;'cially by Kenya, the Urited Republic of Tan'~ania, Zambia, iJad.C1.gascar and Swazilanc~, because Lnduat r-i.a I plantations of appropriate apec i.e r are known to provide a more homogeneous raw material, especially for the pulp anc, papar industries, than a great number of mixed tropical species. It "<en De e xpec t.ed that the gradually increasing exploitation of natural forest

re aour-ce a due to increasing demand and better transport facilities will bring about the same policy trend in Central and West Africa, where the increases ].10

-~o~.~.;.;t re sourooe has until ^;10W enjoyed favourable' climatic- conditionsta comparatLveLy low population density (with the exception of Higeria) and consequerrcLy a relatively low demand for arable land. These advantages make

i t possi~e to plan for the development of the forest industries for the next decades. ' However-, it is calculated that the increase in population and in ::b demand for for-eat industry products in botb the domestic and the export markets, will bring about a dec r-ea sc in forest reserves at an average rate of

?:to 3 perc~?~ pery~ar, which wil~,leave the !7"a ~th only 60 per.cent of :cs present reserves at the end of'Ule "entury'. Thds and the ^quaLfty

'C"q,-,',,\,,-nents indicated above will force !{est and Central Africa also to adopt a policy of industrial plantations.

1J

United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Production Yearbook

!S?';,

?:!

Ibid

Y

Africar Forestry Conrad.asdon , fourth session, :larch

1976.

"The Mechanical Forest mdustries in Central and vlest Africa. Guidelines for Development."

!Jj

and

rt.:-i.rkku Somu Ia , State

Ce~tral Africa. RAF

and Devclo eut of

444,

October

19

Wood-based Panel Industries in

•

•

- ;>. -

2. Some idea of the tremendous potential represented by the eXisting forest reserves in Africa is reflected in the fact that sales in February 1976 were estimated at '$U3 1 800 per hectare. These estimates were based, on the

assumption that- the average oocme roi aI log vo Lune is 30 cubic metres per hecTare and that all logs are converted locally at a rate of

5

per cent by plywood and sawmi;Ll factories and the product sold at a price of $US 120 FOB per square mete~

3.. The difficulties in usi:lg of a bie sector ot: these avnilable forest resources consist in:

(i) (ii) (_111.,

..

^,)

(iv)

Cienerally long transport distances from fore"t to harbour;

.The present high tra:lsport costs due to fuel prices;

The lack of infrastructure;

Relatively short forest concession periods~. whdc h do not encourage long-term investment~

(~/^"

4.

These diffieulttoo are present in particular in Zaire, the largest forest-growing country in Africa, many of whose forest reserves are still almost intact. Zaire is heaVily handicapped by cooper-Leon with some costal countries - e speci.e.Ll.y Gabon a:~c' the Ivory Coast - by the fact that its

largest forest reserves are situated some 1 500 kilometres from the nearest harbour and transport by 1'"O:1.d is excessively expensive.

Groups of Utilized .species of tropical wood

5..

Raw material resources in most tropical foret51; regions in Africa can be classified" in the following three n~in ^groups.gf

Valuable 'species (redwoods and others), nair-ly used for production of v;' leer plywood are decorative wall panelling' and in the furniture

ir:.d.ustry~

(ii) Utility species Used for oa,mwooG, construction plywood, beaVy conct ruc e ton t-Lmber- joi.r.c r-y -eor-k , railway sleepers" etc.

(iii) Lesser-used species Generally s?8cies with higher density smaller log fo rra, Pr-or.s 2. technical view poi.rrf , most of them are utilizable.

6.

III order to maxi-ni ze the value of a raW r.laterial, it is essential that it be used for the highest grade of product for which it is suitable, using the domestic and, in a second' phase, the African markets for the introduction and test of lessGr~usedspecies.

&'

Africa" Forestry Commtasf.on Gp. Cit.

•

- 3 -.

B. ROWldirood supply and trade

7.

Roundwooq"' -odnotIon and sales reprusent the most eLezerrtaL form of forest utilization after fuel llOud extraction. Therefore, most African wood-producing 00untries initiated their forest exploitation with roundwood and log production, mainly for expor-tj and this elemantal activity represents still, in most cases, the main rorm of forest utilization, in spite of the fact that more highly developed forms of forest exploitation are being created in most wood-producing cut:n'c,ies, ~;; choul.d also be noted that the utilization of Africa's tropical forest resouroes has until recently been more exploitation than a rational use of existing raw mate;:,ia'l resources ,

8.

In

1975

Africa's total production of

roundsood

was

319.3

million cubic metres, of which 308 ",iIi ion cubic IOOtres was produced from non-oonfe rous

wood, The producer counti-ioswere Nigeria

(65.5

million cubic metres),

1!ll.

'~ted Republi of Tanzania

(3309

million cubic metres), Ethiopia

(24.2

million cubic IOOtresr,

.Y£.anda

\14.7

million cubic ""'t~), ^Zaire

(13.7

mUlion cubic matres), and Ghana (12 million cubic _me~res)· • .

9.

Total African exports of rounduood in

1975

amounted to

6

million cubic

"",tres, showing a decreasing trend since

1973 (/.l,9

million cubic "",tres and

7,1

million cubic metres). This volu"", of exports is a relatively modest compared to total world exports of roundsrood

(101.1

million cubic metres) in

1975.

The, main African

6'3<po'letbrll

;'!k're the Ivory Coast

(2.4

million cubic metres. in

1975,

compared to

3,5

million cubic metres in

1973

and

3

million cubic "",tres in

1974),

Gabon

(1·4

million cubic metres), Ghana

(434000

cubic "",tres in

1975,

compared to

1.1

million cubic """tree in

1973)

and the United Republic of Cameroon (430

000

cubic r.Jetres). Zaire. in possession of one of the largest reserves in the region exported only

30,000

cubic metres in

1975.

As can be seen, most of the largest exportersoo.,'lO been successful in reducing roundwood exports in favour' of wood processing"

lO. The main Atrica:l ir.JPort~of rour.u.,,'D':'1 are the Nartl, African countries, with ~r~!?as the largest· importer

(235 000

cubic "",t""'s), follo,*,d by

Egypt

@5

OOOSjbic ffieTY'es), Tunisia (77 000 cubio metres) and Algeria (53 'XlO

~t::':;" "''''~'l,,:>l'o Uganda. the only traditionally large importer outside the North African subregion, imported only

5 000

cubic mtres in

1974,

compared to

40 000

CL":~r.

,.,,,t·']S

^~n

¹⁹⁷²

^{and 70}

^OOC.

·9;>1:I.ic """tres in

1970.

11. Af'r-Lcan exports w"re pr-Lnc LpaH y destined for Europe, with smaller qUantities going to Hor-fh Africa. The bulk of North African 1<00d imports '"",re·,softwoods imported fro", Europe and Horth America.

12.

Owing to the degree of development of the wood-l«lrking industries in Europe, long-established trade channels and the conditions of ownership of l<Ood-.«>rking enterpriooG in Africa, Europe remains the main export market for African roundwood, which in fact l'epresento a considerable share of the raw materials used in the manufacture plyoood and other products in many European countries

(15

per cent in Italy and

90

per cent in the l1etherlands).

" ,,']}, <:",~oc;l1ations Food and Agriculture Organization, Yearbook of Forest

!1;?ductic:,n, 1975

(1964 - 1975) ,

§/

Ibid

._"'-.-.---_

...~.,..-.,.,,-.~.

- 4 -

^•

African countries with the greatest deficit in >IOod are, in addition to the Sahelian countries, whose market size is small, the North-African countries some of ,mich, lib, Morocco and Algeria, •.re already importing timber from Central and West Africa, mainly from the IVOry Coast, Gabon, the Congo and Cameroon. In 1973 tlie

United

Republio of loorooco _i~rted

74 672

kgs

(apPr?ximately 93

347

cubic metres) of tropical 1<OOd.. In 19i6 TWlisia' s round- wood a!"d log imports from West and Central _Af~ca lrere

5

1m', (against 2

694

MI' and

5 558

1m' in 1975 and lW' respectively;:;;;r Libya's imports ""re from

outside the African region • .

13. In spite of the general awar'ene as of the importance of reducing this primary form of exports in favour of local conversion by the wood...,rking

industry to maximize the value of national forest resources and benefit the whole national economy, the following factors militate against it.

(i) . .

The .largest importing countries generally prefer to ilhd logs, in the interest of their 01<11 l<OOd-working

import roundwood industries;

(ii)

In ^SOIOO exporting countries taxes and export duties on roundseood and

10gG are up to five times higher than for &awnl<OOd or other products and therefore such exports as of short-term fiscal interest to the Government although in ·the long term they have a detll'imental effect on industrial development and export earnings.

Ir:nany \oIOod~xportingcountries the export business is mainly in the hands of expatriate, private enterprises, which ailll aaUAg a. high 'l

,. profit in as short a time as possible. With the proper overseas connexions and distribution channels, round'sood exports meet the needs of such enterprises since they require a minimum of investments compared to manufacturing.

14.

~lhere the Ai. ican trade in ""od and ·i,qod products is concerned, it ciA of crucial importance that the African wood i.mporting ·countries f'avour- roundwood and log

imports to imports of sasm timber and other wood products, whilst the biggest timber- exportirig countries give .preference to exports of sat<nWood. A solution to this

diiP.mma, which deeply affects the whole dove Lopmerrt. policy of the African timber- producing countries, would be decisive for the marketing of products of the

Afri",m mechanaca I wood-working industries in African consumer markets.

C, The mechanical wood-""rking industry in Africa. its production and exWrt . potential

Primary forest industry

15.. The prir.1ary· forest industry, which handles the first stage of mechanical wood conversion, .produces items such ·as sat<nwood, veneer, plywood, blackboard and

venec red panels.

2/

Ki.ngdom of Morocco, _~~!..._!.1~ue. du Commerce Exterieur, 1973. (A cubic metre of tropical roundwood is equivalent to approximately 800 kilograms).

!2l ..

RCPUblic'6fTiJnbia, Statistiques du Commerce Erlerieur, Annees

1974.

1975, 1976.

!lJ

Libyan Arab Republic, External Trade Statistics,

1974.

-5-

16. As has been stated in v-arious reports of the ECA/FAO Forest Industry Adv-isory Group, it is essential that each species and each log be used for the highest grade of product for which it is suitable so as to ensure optional sales value, value added, conditions of employment and foreign currency· earnings. This can be regarded ao the basic principle of the strategy for ·the dev-elopment of the forest industry.

I t has been calculated that about half of the species extracted from the f:rzrt, most of which are now exported as logs, are st:.:i.table for conversion into veneer • The exportation of logs 0:1 " Lc.r-ge cce.Le i" ahor-ts i.ghted^{s :} The main benefit" of

converting more logs inti> manufactured products of different grades may be sumnili.rized

as fo Ll.ows e . . .

(i) Direct and indirect impact on e:nployment because of the relatively high labour-intensity of the industry and the fact that raw material reserved arc often located in a~eas where labour in readily av-ailable;

(ii) Increased national income and higher foreign exchange earnings by exporting manufactured products;

(iii) Possibilities for secondary conversion (joinery work, furniture, wooden paCking materials, pre-fabricated houses);

(iv)" Thi" industry is not SO dependent on imported technology as others.

Characteristics and standards of the mechanical wood-working industry in Africa

17. The African mechanical wood-working industry has the follOWing characteristicssU!

(i) Most salllDills arc small-ooale enterprises in which improvements are needed in tI:

techniques of sawing, edging and grading in management and work supervision, etc.

(ii) The standard of the plywood industry is generally higher; however, the input . of uorking hour-s per cubic meter of plywood is very high, in some cases as much

as five times higher than in the traditional wood-processing countries;

(iii). The furniture industry varies quality in standards and quantity. In certain Gectqrs training has improved the quality of the goods produced.

(1v) I t is usually managed by people with little knowledge of business administrati"··

accounting and marketing.

Table 2: African roduction of sawnwood in thousands of cubf,c rootr-cs)

19fIJ 1971 1972 1973 1974 ~

Non~oniferou[; 2 7~6 2 "74 2 721 3 231 3306 3311

Con i.f'e z-ous 1

S13

¹

53?

¹

533

^{1 6~1 1 672 1 66':'}

11:1

African For-estr-y Commission, Op. Cit.

W

This evaluation is based on a field survey of mechanical wood-working industries undertalcen by experts of the ECA/FAO Forest Industry Advisory Group in the English-spea:'ing countries of Africa in 1975. Ii similar survey of the

French-espeakang countries has as yet not been undertaken. It is, however, believed that there are no esoontial differencea in the general standard.

- 6 -

18. As can be seen from these statistics, between 40 and 60 per cent of African sawnl.'OOd production consists of non-oonffe rous sawn1<00d produced from tropical woods. With only exception of the United Republic of Tanzania and Ethiopia, the biggest producer cowltrLs all produce marco .non-coniferous than coniferous sal-1I11«>odtl Bet'weeri 1970 and 1975 t!·.s ~a:J:'g8[",~ producers were Nigeria (937,000 cubic lOOtres in 1975), the Ivory Coast (555 000 cubic metres), Ghana 050 000 cubic metres), the United Republic of Tanzania (115 000 cubic . i'i1etres,· non-eoniferous;

30 000

cubic metres ~onifer0(.,m), Ethiopia

(75

000 cubic metre s coniferous; 25 000 cubic metres non-oorri fo rous sawnwood), 1I:'Rola (150 000 cubic lJetres) and the United Hep:lbheo:t~}.!>2.::'.(100 000 cubic metres.) The main producers of coniferous sawnoood

were

Kenva (74 000 cubic metres), and Swaziland (98 000 cubic metresL

African exports and imports of sawnwood

19. Total African exports of sawmrood, practically all of it produced from non-oondfe rous , t.llIOunted to 749 000 cubic C18trcS in 1975 conpar-ed to total world exports of 8 202 000 cubic l:Jetres. Afr·ican exports have been decreasing since 1973. This is probably partly due to the rapi.d inCi"Cv.scs in naritine freight rates in recent years. The nain exporters in developing Africa were the Ivory Coast (212 000 cubicoetres in 1975), ~.E'" (169000 cubic retres), . Swaziland

(90

000 cubic netres \<.oniferoils) and ~'tnbiqu::'(71 COO cubic raetres).

The bulk of these exports were destined for r.nrl'.cts outside the region and the nain iJnPOrting count-ries were the United Kingdon, the Fedeml P.epublic of Gernany, the Netherlands, France, Spain and the United St:ates of Ar.Jeri<:a.

Snall quantities were exported to Morocco and Algeria. In

1975

total African ioports of sawnwood anourrred to 1 728 000 cubic l:>etres, coniferous and 461 000 cubic l:letres~ non-eoniferous salm."hUod. The nain inportern of !22.~~us

sawnwood were §Sypt (538 000 cubic mtres), the Libyan A""h Jar.nhiriyaT463 000 cubic ootres), Morocco (207 000 cubic nctres ), Algeria (183 000 cubic ootres) and Tunisia (92 000 cubic ootres). Inports by the Libyan Arab Jaraahdr-Iya increased spectacularly, having riser: fron

77r:J:JO

cubic met t-ea in 1970 to

463

OOJ cubic oet re s , reflecting the ""pid deveLopmerrt of conntr-uot Lon in the country. In 1975 the biggest iupor-terL of ',m-ccmiferon., ("¥'",,",,-,od in developing Africa were Tunisia (68 000 cubic !Jetres),

6.!g;;ri:;; Ti2"OrJOc;;'b'j,c"

ootres) . . . . and Zar.lbia (10

9CXJ

cubic r.retres)⁰ African if.1IX>3...ts of £2ll-iferauD 2E-..!'ffi.wood

all originated outside the region, =inly).l ltortnern 0~r,·;:" a~cd fJ,,,,rio:a, whilst non-conf.fe roua ioports originated in Cerrtrc L and Hast Africa. As has already been stressed, the inpo=-t policy of SODe cd the :Jain AP"-;'can inporting countries represents an obstacle to the developnent of Af~i.c"n ",,;cn;,'Ood

exports to their nar-ke ts , Future export prospects

20. It is thus to be expected that the nain r.>arkets for Afric8Jl sawn tinber will lor the near future continue to be Europe, North Africa and the Middle East 'owing to:

(i) (ii) (iii)

the increasing deoand in these narkets;

the increasing labour costs of the local ,,,,,od--working industry in the oain producer countries;

the continuous reduction of the forest reserves in many of the traditional producer countr-ie s ,

-7

21. The largest =rkets in the African region will continue to be

the

North Africtul countries ond , in the lone run Nigeria, owinB to the rllpid _increa~ in population am! a consequent increase in tlie denand , for 'llOodproductsi especially for constructioO' purposes, which cannot be fully satisfied by dooostic production.

Th;~~ll'probabl.y !Jake ~Jigerin a net inporterof forest prodoots over the Long

t o . . , ...

22. The future export possibilities of African sawn wood to African =rkets

"ill consequently depend on the following factors'

(i) Policy changes in the inporting countries, by lessening or abolishing restrictions on sawnl;Ood inports_. f'rori Africa;

- ' . '

(ii)

Identification of tropical...sawnwoods!S}'le to replace. species until . _'>U>",i",portcd f'r-om outside the region • .

(Hi) Developnent of the furniture and joinery industry, utili:dng .±=pical harO.'llOod.

23. It also seens obvious that the West and Central African PX'9ducers will

have their princi~ African markets in fooroeQo, .Algeria, TUnisia and.perhap'l the Libyan Arab Jacahiriya whilst the logicalnarkets for thC8astern and lOOut\\ern African producer countries'llOuld seen to be Egypt, SOr.J!1lia,the $udan

and the

Middle'

£d"t,

where' the demand is e xpec.t'od to grow rapidly.' In,·these '=rkets about

80 - 85

per cent of the sawnwood Lmpor-red is coniferous _~ which

indicates the inport:m"e of the buildine industry as an _end.,u~the whole;, ccnsucpracn of Dawnl<Ood in this area .

(Jetq

rising the _~~i'ddle Ea:-st-imdnOrth- . eastern Africa is expected to increase by oore than double, rising frao 1~7

Dillion cubic netre's' in 1970 to

3.8

[,illion .cubic uetres in 1980, with' "'o"t· of the increase Occuring in the oil-producirig countries. AlI present .U\e nain suppliers are' Sooden,the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Rorndhia, Italy and Kenya ••

African expor-rer-s of coniferous salll1wood will thus have to .face .cOlJPetftion f'rora European exporters of soft-wood, over- whom they have the advantages of lower labour costs and shorter transpo!'t distances.

W

Wood-based panels

24,

T6tal production of wood-based pands in. developl.i18 African 3.n 1975 was

858

000 cubic ootreS. Ther.lOst inportant producer count rde's

were

the

Ivory

Coast (140 000 cubic ootresh the Congo (100 000 cubic netres), Gabon'

(99

000 _<;ubi~ ,..;,1o",s), •.

Ghana (77 '000 cublc ""'tras), Zaire'

(74

000 cubic netre's) and the United Republic

er!

Caoeroon (73 000 cubic netras).

·.W

African Forestry ·Cor.unission, Ope cit.

15/

Markku Si=la, Ex rt Possibilities -f Ethio ian Wood Products OCA/FAO Forest _~dlistries Advisory Group, Deceober 197 •

!§j

M. Sir.lUla, Export Possibilities of Ethiopian Wood Production, Dec.

1974

!JJ

All figures are FAO estimates.

- 8 -

Veneer sheets

25. In 1975 total African production represents

366

000 cubic metres (as compared to world production of 3 581 000 cubic met reo}, The principal producer countries were

I'li6ry

CO""t·

E

100 OOO···cubic metI'es),. the CojgO (100 000 cubic metres),~.

United Republic of ,Cameroon (63 000 cubic t:'1.3tres and the Zaire (50 000 cubic metres)• . Africin export" of veneer sheets amounting to 1.;0 000 cubic metres iii 1975j·t:be nJain'exporters being·the Congo (51 000 cubic metres), the United Republic of Cameroon (14 000 cubic metres), Ivory Coast (20 000 cubic metres). African

imports arc equally modest - 48 000 cubic metres in 1975, reflecting low demand and feeble purchasing power of the mar-kets , African exports were destined almost totally for marketo outside the region.

26. The amount of plywood produced in developing Africa in 1975 was 392 000 cubic metres the principal producers being Gabon (77 000 cubic metres), Nigeria

(64

000 cubic metres), Ghana (59 000 cubic metres) and Ivory Coast

05 000 cubic l1>3trcs). African exports in 1975 were 69 000 cubic lIEtres, with

Nigeria exporting 17 000 cubic ootres, Ghana 15 000 cubic metres !"ldthe

Ivory

Coast 11 000 cubic metres. the biggest African importers in

1975

were the Libyan ...

Arab Jamahiriya

eo

000 cubic metres) and

Egypt

09000 cubic metres). Again, the sharp. rise in plywood imports to the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 11 000 cubic metres in 1974 and 1975, reflects the present bocta in the building industry. Eighty per cent of Africa's plywood and veneer exports were destined for Europeanmar)<ets. This tendency is even more pronounced in the Case of NigeriA, the largest exporter, which exports 94 per cent of its total exports to Europe ,'

Export prospect~·~orAfrican wood-based panels

27. Sinri~ the future projections for plywood and veneer imports in Europe indicate that t1'e demands rapidly grawing, it Can be expected that present trends in respect of African veneers and plY1«>Od will continue. However, in spite of the rapid growth of the European demand for tropical plyl«>od, African expor-ter-s have been losing 'rbca c share in t-he market-, whieh has never been very substantial. This .Ls due partly to the unfavourable

development of naritirne freight rates and partly to the fact that roundwood and log exports to Europe are still heavy. However, it can be assumed that

increasing labour costs in the European markets will in the near future help to boost African exports of wood-based panels to them.

28. As for sawnwood, the most likely African markets for plywood and veneers are the North African countries, which are now importing all their woo?- based panels except; for a few decorative veneers from Europe and Asia.

Since African exporters produce tropical veneers, would increase their share

·w

·the market atthe expense of the Asian exporters. The increase in the demand for wood-based panele in the African region has been remarkably slow, except in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. In 1974 the per capita consumption of wood-based panels was only 1.1 "ubic metres per 1 000 inhabitants, compared to 0.6 cubic metres Ln the 1960s. If this trend cnntinuoa, production, which is expected almost to double by 1980, can be supported only bV increasing exports to .the main consurer markets. These 'comments refer a Lr.c ct "ntirely to plywood and veneers. ·-Ghanai';·the only' co~t;y'in the region which might be expected to export small quantities of particleboard at the end of this

decade. . - .

- 9 -

Ma2p obstacles to African wood4>ased panel exports

29. The I:lain diffieul"ties encourrte red in promoting exports of African wood-

ba~d pane Ls to overseas arid reGional raar!<ets can be su.amar-Lzed as follows:

(i)

Low growti(rate of consurapti.on in r,lOst of the regional markets due to low per capita Lncor.o and, to sore extent, to lack of Lnforma't Lon about the poss Lbilitiesfor using 'these products;

(ii)

Transport problems and relatively high t r-anspor-r costs owing to recent sharp increases in maritime freight rates, the cost of transporting logs is actually "lOre favorable than that for

raanufaotur-e s ; .

(iii) Extensive expatriate role in wood-prOlcessing industries with a consequent lack of co"""peration on a national and subregional level in joint narketing efforts.

Me'asures to prt:>motethe consumption 0# and trade in African, wood-based panels 30. In view of the diffiCulties outlined above , the following measures

could help to incirease the consumption and 'exportation of wood-based panels;

(L) Paying 'special attention to the utilization less of popular ,awciea in the local conversion of wood. These products could first be

tested in domestic oar-ke t-a and these be test-marketed in ne aghbour-Ing . markets

at

a lower

price

than products based 'on utility species.

Lo>lering the price ,.ould put products within the reach of bigger sectors of consur.1frs ..

(ii)

The parallel co-or-dfnat Lon of joint action by producers in the field of information and advertisi.n[; with a view to making products knoun to pre speo t.l.ve oonsurre r-sr

(iii) Raying greater attention to the possibilities' of using domestically produced wood panels hy Goverru-ent organizationS and boar-ds ,

especially the Hinistry of Housing and/or Public Works;

(iv) Studing the possibilities of joint marketing and 'Gh.i.pr.>ents on a national and/or subregional level under the auspices of either marketing groups or national 'tLmber- offices or marketing boards;

(v) Co-or-danat Ion of promotion ::<easures by the African 'I'Lmbe r- Organization 0", a subregiol1al and regional level;

(Vi) Creation of national ahd ppi.ng lines in order to lessen dependence on Conference lines and to kee n freight increases down.

:Jecondn.ry Wood-lJOrkL:.p;."~ndustries ^iT.:. A.frica

31. The secondary oood working indus!!y' produces manufactures like joinery product o , fur:.liturc,. wooden pao Ici ng .abe r-LaLs and pre-fabricated bouse s , Expansion into this kind of Lnt'e gr-a tecl operation is nOl"'Dnlly a third logioal phase in the development of a sawmill and plyntill since integration reduces production costs because maintenance, log-handling, transport administration, marketing, etc., are handled joLirtLy, 30>Jever, it is believed that, in,the Africall context" smaller mills offer greater advantages, such as .labour inputs (which are higher than those required when more sophisticated and mechanized ,.'

production methods' are used), low investment requireIrents and fewer complication in their ope ra.Hon and managerrerrt and in

tl1e

marketing of their production •

,

32. 110 production statistics seem to be available and secondary trood-trorking indu s t r7 in Africa. HOliC-,01! trade statistics indicate that the bulk of the production

or, iI', any case, 'Of the export pt-oduct Lcn takes place dn the Nor-rh African countries although small joinerief8'1nd furniture industries exist in

practically all African cou..Y}tries~

33. In

1974,

the total value o,ft;(17iCan furniture exports - the only product for wiich statistics are available~ was $US 13.[ million, of which $US.10.7 .",'.

million was accounted for by Hor-th A~:rican e xpor-t's , At the same tire, the total value of furntiure exports from deve Iopdng Africa .was $US

44

million, in 1972, the value. of' North African imports was $US 15 million. These figures seem very IWdest when compared >d. th those for European and American exports

$US 3 billion and ~S 232.2 million, respectively, The sluggishness of African trade in the industry seems to be due to the fact that very few enterprises in Africa have been successful in exporting products of the

secondary ,,,,,od working industry lJith a high value, which in turn is due mainly to the follo>d.ng factors which are still limiting the ability of this industry to oomperee

(a)

-

^Lotr productivity due inter alia to.

(i) High inputs of trorking hours required per unit produccdj

(ii)

Insufficient training and supervision of staff;

(iii) Insufficient maintenance of equipment resulting in frequent interruption in production;

(av) Supply difficulties as to imported spare parts and other materials.

Inadequate technological standards

Uneven que Ld't-y due to lack of standardization of primary products (sawnl<Ood, veneers, e eo^{s )}

Inadequate storage facilities

InsufficiZBV attention to cost calculation, pricing and marketing='

1fJ

l\c" result of a field ourvcy carried out in 1975 in English...peaking Wes' lWd eas1!'6ourthern Africa, 152 JOOdiUlll-Size and 22 large-size furniture factories >Jere

identified, In addition, there is an unknown number of small workshops and cst1:age industries with 1 to 10 ""rkera using mainly hand-tools.

15JI

Yearbook of International Trade Statistics; Vol. II, 1975

?12J

F!0A/FAO Forest Industries Advisory Group, "Survey of vocational training and technical education requirements for tbe oochanioal wood industries in English speaking tlest and East Africa, December 1975.

-11-

34.

These factors are at prevent limiting the marketing possibilities in more sophisticated markets. In fact, most African furniture imports are from developed countries with export-oriented furniture industries. The fact that the problems of the African joinery

?!fJ

furniture industry are mainly technological and productivity problems ."- points to the urgent need for training in these sectors. As has been observed, the products are generally of reasonably good quality in sectors in which vocational training is already being provided, such as the >lOod machining and cabinet-<naking sectors. It is therefore obvious that more than anything else the seoondary lolOod-working industry in the region needs additional training, technological knowledge and standardization. This seems to be the most important medium- term target for this industry, and its realization =uld help the industry first to satisfy decentic markets and, as a second step, to expand into neighbouring markets where purchasing po_r and quality requirements are identical or similar. In the long-term i t seems probe.bl,e also that maxketing possibilities in the main overseas markets are promising, taking into account;

the rapidly increasing labour costs in the main producer- countries, a faotor which will also have repercussions on the export prioes of furniture now imported into Africa and will necessitate an increasing degree of import substitution in this sector.

D. The chemical wood->lOrlting industry in Africa The wood-pulp industrye?!

Wood

pUlp

production in Africa

35.

Developing Africa's total produotion of wood pulp is given in the table 2 below.

Table

2:

Africa^Is total producTion of wood pulp

(1970-1975)

(in thousands of tom.' I

froducer

1970 1971

^{;rq7? lq"7:)}

197,4 1

<)'7').

~frica, Tot,,-l"

842-

^g81 941 1 _025~ 1 056~ :~ 0l8~

Angola 37 33 32

4l

^a

35

^a

35"

Madagascar 2

2

3?:p' 4w' 5W 4~

Mon:>cco

45

^J,6

53

^a

Swaziland

101 105 125 134& 143& 14il

!I

^{FAO cstioate}

'§j

1.11 official figure

Source: United Nations Food and Agricul tune Organization, Yearbook of forest production,

1975.

?:!I

reA/FilO Forest Industries Advf.sor-y Group, "Improvement-s possible in the existing forest industries in Africa", February

1976.

ggf

Including mechanical, semi~chanical,chemical and dissolVing oood pulp.

- 12 -

36.

As can be seen Swaziland is the biggest oood""1'Ulp· producer in developing Africa, followed at". long diata.:noe by lk>mccoantl Angola. The bulk of the production in Swa:zlland, !.bracco and Ingola consist of chemical unbleached

and

£.l~.~_sulpi..xte!l!:!lP.' The only pr-oducer- of l1J>chan,ical wood pulp in de",:,loping;

Afric~. 1,,:.;3 ..:.d~:gaD(":c':.r, lJ~1.ie~1 is producing tbic ~~ind~0'f )ulp alL."ic.:;t ·cxcluGl.vcly w1th sma, amount", of semi--ehemIcal puIR(1 000 tonr. in1975). Algeria • ..hich is not

shown in the FAO forest industry statistics, has two pulp mills in operation which produce chenii.ca.L pulp at an ann.ml rate of 22 000 ton<> The. 'At'["non·

mill· which is the biggest unit producing pulp and paper in North Africa and has a capacity ,)~een 44 and 66 OCXJ tone a year, recently went into cOffillJ>rcial

productiun • There is also a paper and pulp mill of· Jebba, Nigeria, with a producti2~/capacity of

30

OCXJ tons a year. As· of 1975, this mill was being exp:;'lnded.=.:p .

37. Tber'e are several projects for the establishment of pulp mills utilizing' tropical wOod species indigenous in West and Central Africa (the Ivory Coastj Gabon, Ghana, the United Republic of Caneroan and the Congo), _~~;Vdue to . technological difficulties none of them have as yet materialize

Africa's trade in wood Pylp

38.

Developing Africa; s exmrts of wood pulp remained remarkably constant

in the period 1972 .. 1975

(17

OCXJ tons inl972againat .20100Q tons pe~ }'E'ar in

1973 .- 1975),

The largest exporter was Swaziland, ..hich in

1975

exported all 143 000 ton" of it" pz-oduc t-Lon of unbleached sulphite pulp. Angola·e)'P(H.~te.d_~....

33

000 rons per year during the per-iod 1972 -

1975.

Most of these exports consisted

in bleached auLph a't e pulp. . .

39.

The bulk of these exports went to markets outside Africa. Swaziland's main export '."",rket~ in

1974

"",re Japan, Austroli.:o., United Kingdom and Spain.

In

1975

Morocco exported

90

per cent of its production to Europe, minly to·

the Uni',;(j;Zingdom, France and Austria. Morocco cuealyptus-based pu~~;s well known in the main export markets and appreciated J:Qr i h high .'lUalit. . There have be- -.l. occasional ~k:>roccan expor-ts to othe-r A£rioan countries (Tunisia,

Algeria and Egypt). 1n).974 Tuna.s La exported 14 616 cone of pulp, 2 404 torG ofwhic'.

went to Algeria, the Congo, and Egypt. Thccorresponding. figures for 1975 and 1976

'ere 6

099 and 12 ooo'tona reBpecfi~ly. In'1974 and

'1975·

Angola's exPorts went mainly to the United Ka.ngdom and Japan.

thc.pulp

W

projects

?:/J

ECA/FAO Forest Industries Advisory Group,

and

paper industry in" Algeria", July

1975.

EGA/FAO Forest Industries Advisory Group, for the pul p-and paper industry in AfriCa,

"The state and development of

Preliminary list'

·of·Potential..

February 1975.

a paT4.£!

?£J

.-:", See Pr'oje¹ _<!!LErograrnme de oovelopemnt pour une industrie de la pat9

destip" a 1'exportation en Opte d'IV'Jire. issued by K.R. Maker in April 1973.

the

?:&I

pulp

EGA/FAG Forest Industries Advisory Group, ''The and paper io>dust·ry in Morocco_~ August 1975.

state and development of

-,13 -

40. Total "",od-pulp imports of devoloping·Africa ><ere 81 <XX) tones'

in 1975.

compared to f5 000 tones in 1974 and 94 000 tones .in 1973. The main importers

>lern Egypt (24000 tones in'1974-75'again;rl 3[oootones in 1973).~.iorocco"·

(19 (lOO tones in. 1973-75) a.vl ~geria (21 000 tones in 1973-75, against 2000 tones in 1972). Of these imports

65-70

pel' cent ><ere chemical pulp, the rest being semi-ehemical and mechanical pulp. Egypt' ^I) imports were mainly from the Nordic countries, the United States, Canada and the Soviet Union and Morocco's and Algeria's from [~andinavia and the United States.

The.Nordic countries have traditionally supplied about

85

per cent of Morocco's tot:';'1 il1Ipol"ts and about 75 pol" cent of the pulp imported'by Egypt and Algeria.

I t seems probable that limited opportunities for increasing the capacity of the Scandinavian countries to produce pulp and the rapidly growing demand in the European markets, will in the medium and long term future cut down on the ability of' those ·co.;lltrks to 'supply overseas markets; This will no doubt affect the N<?1"th .&.riC""'.l?}lIl.'industry. New supply. source s will have to be identified in the long runs Some of the \;est and Central African pulp projectEi seem to suggest a good 0pP9rtunity for a joint venture since countries in those subregions general~y have better ecological ~ditions for industrial wood plantations than the North'African countries • This would make ~ possible to obtain long fibored cbejndca.L pulp when the traditional supply sources start applying a restrictiV'e:export policy in respect of their overseas

cus'torre r-s , As for short-fibered chemical pulp, production and export prospects f<;>r the two main North African producers seem favorable. The new Mostaganem 1'\'11" mill in Al/..ler.;ia,,,here .a,nnual export capacity has been calculated at 44 000 tones, lDuld probably be able to cover approximately half of Africa's present consumption of short-fibered pulp. In Morocco, the Sidi Yahia plant, whose present '."'"!'1u.'!:l .capacity i s

55000

tones is be:U!e expanded and it has been calculated that its future capacity will be

100

000 tpns ,per year. Since dooostic high class pulp is very rarely used for local . jiaper production, the bulk of the pulp produced at this mill will probably be available for export.

41. . Owing to t:", present relatively 10:; demand for wood pulp in Africa south of sahara, it seems obvious that, in the ,short and =diClffi term, the main export markets for Algerian and J;1oroccan pulp will remain' Hestern Europe and the

United 5*at09, "ith Egy:ot end the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya secondary custonra1"s.

However, long..tel'r.l prospects for the African pulp industry seem promising owing to the limited possibilities for increasing production in several of the leading producer countries, the high labour costs in these countries and the rapidly increasing demand for pulp in developed countries. Because of Africa^I B enormous forestry reserves and the presence. of abundant and- cheap,' labour in the region, the African pulp industry will be in good position to take over par-t of the pulp imports to overseas markets • . In.tra.-:Africa.Il trade in pulp (outst.de the North African subregion) is a mediu,". and lGmg'":term _queB~ipn since the demand for wood pulp is closely related to

the

demand for IU<d . consumption of paper and, thus, to the standard of living and' the purchasing

power of the populat':i:on; and, the paper industry in Hest 'arid Central Africa is still at the planning stage.

W

See The Prelimina and East Africa prepared by K.R.

Advisory Group in February 1975.

- 14 - '

E. Printing paper and writing-papcr

Africa.'·s production of printing paper and writing-paper

42.

The production trend for prir..tL'1g ar.dwriting paper in developing Africa can

b8

seen in table 3'below:

Table 31. Production trend for rintt rand writin Africa in thousands of tones

a r in develo in

. 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975

rotal Developing Africa 93 101 105

86

82

Algeria 21 21 19

H'

^.20

Egypt

42

47 44 23 24

Tunisia 12

l~ 4~

²²

y

¹⁵

Morocco

1O~

^{1 a lla'} _.1O~

Angola 2

3 Y jI if

Nigeria ..

2~ 2~

^3"i/

2~ ~~

.

,

Source r United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. Yearbook of Fore ..tryProlluction. 1975, ..nd " field survey car-r-Lad out in !\lgeria.

~ FAO estimates

43. In the cases of Algeria and ril6rocco¥l the paper mills are working well' below production capacity. Total annual production oapacity for printing'"

papervand writing"?per in Algeria arid r,lorocco is estimated at

58

^{000 '-}

13 000 tow' respectively. Algeria l.aa nine paper mills, 'of ,which three are privately owned and six beLong to the State-<JWI1ed

sonc.

The five paper c orapanae s 'in r/!orocco a re all privately owned ,

Africa's trade in printing paper and writing'-paper

44. The on.Ly exporters of printina paper and writing paper in developing Africa are Algeria, Tunisia and l!;orocco.

In

^{19'73 Al.ger-La} exported 8 362 tons of paper and boards, of which printing paper represented

8

309 tons.

These exports represented decr,o'.;:C' in r-cIr.t-ion t,) the 9 424 tcnc el\PCrt",1 in 1971.

The total share of printing paper and wriUng-papers in total puf p and paper exports decreased from 91 per cent in 1971 to 1:6 per cent in 1973.

?Jj.

Them,:a.re.cnodetails available On the p ....doo1;ion pattern in Egypt arid TUnisia'. '. C

.. 15 _.

paper c:o-_

China and NOl ^>,

Guinea.

71-1979,

43

per cent of Algeria's production of printing aper- was exported. In

1973

the r.ain narkets were Europe, eo. with marginal exports to some African count r-Ie s mainly

45.

Exports of paper' and paper products from Morocco have definitely been Africa--oricnted in r-ecerrt year.. with about SO per cent going to Algeria and Tunisia and the rest to West Africa. Ho>",ver, Algeria, Morocco's

r.au. ' . ,

client; which in 1974 received over 60% of ~~rccco's puper exports

£21

¹⁸ ~p:d"Y deve lopingaer. ovm export-oriented pe.per- industry. The same appl i.ee to TuruS1a althoughon ia 'iIn.'1l1er sea ,e.

Table

4:

I rts of countries

rinti rand writi in -thoueande'<of torus

r b devele i African

::J

FAD esb.mates

46.

As can he seen, the biggest prc-Iucer- country is at

the

same time the biggest, importer since i ts.~orOClstic production doea not cover its dotOOstic demand. Alger4, being itself an exporter,

i''''

importing printing paper and

writing-paR"r from,naly, Spain and Africa. Together with Egypt and Turd.sda it has the highest· paper consumptton Ln 'Africa. Consumption of paper has been increasing rapidly owing to tic incnoasing rate of literacy and the education program:;,e. Aboet ha Lf the demand carl be ret dOlOOstically, the rest being covered by imports. The sarre is true of Morocco.

1971 1972 1973 1974, 1975

Total developine Africa ^I, gil

1J7

^{110 .150}

154

Main importin" countries

Egypt G 11 7

26 ₄₅

Nigeria

32

²⁰

36

_3f3~

3P.;/

Algeria I0!:l l0!:l

1~!:I l/l _l~

Ghana

40.

^30.

1#1 1

a

Libyan Arab Jamahiriya 2

4 ⁶ 9 9

Kenya 10 9 ¹¹

17 3

Ivory Coast 2

5 4

.

Possi,bilities of exporting' North African printing paPer snd writing2per

47.

It seems

obvaouc

that the

Nor-t

h-Af'r-Lcan paper industries with existing

alld Potentja~ oXp?rt capacity should: pay more attention to the possibilities offered by the ~pidfy groWing'iiiarkers in West and 'Central Africa. At present, t"-re are, only three.,srilallij.a~rnulls in, those two,..subregions (one in Nigeria,

0IU:: in the Uriited Republic of Cameroon and o:no ia UtA) 'LAd. tboan DiUe conconrr . ,

on different grades than those offered by North AfI:'iea. As has been mentioned, ,there, are several pulp and paper projects under consideration in thS area, but

they will not be ope raHonaI before the middle of the next decade.

?:2J

No details arc available as to the share of printing paper and writing- paper in these exports. However, according to Tunisian statistics, this share cannot be big.

- 16 -

i',' see ms that opportunities for export have not as yet been properly investign,ted. The most promising markets appear to be Nigeria, which is Lmpcr-tLng bet;','en

70

and 80 per cent' of its paper and paper-board consumption needs. Consullli'>tion'inNigeria 'will ill<lrease steadily owing to the population increase 'and the rapid economic growth. Other important market" are the I''C£l-y Coast and ~, and Zaire is a big, potential .maz-ket , Potential accondaz 7 mar-kcts are Guinea, Senegal and !lauritania. These markets are well worth a systematic export drive based on previous market research in the f'',8'Cl, dncethe,.9x~rtpotentia1 of, products of the paper industry appear eo be among the most 'promising for intra-African 'trade- in the, short and med i.um term. In the case of both Algeria and Morocco, an export, drive should be considerably facilitated by the existence of regular national shipping lines to West Africa. Consideration, libpuldalso be given to possibilities of joint ventures with prospective West and Central African producers, because of the ecological advantages offered by West and Central Africa where the plantation of trees for industrial pulp" wood is concerned and the advanced know-how the North African paper industry can offer other

African countries.

F⁰ J:!!!lpping paper and

board~

48" DeveIopang Africa^I s total production of wrapping and packing paper and papor-vbcar-d is shown in table 5 below.

Table 'i:

-=---.-,. Develo in Africa's total

~per and paper-board

'roduction of wra i in thousands of ton^D

and

0.£ ;-re.Gt._,--

1971 1972 1973 , 1974 1975

Tota~ de ve Iorri.nn Africa 21 25 20 92

76'JJ

lv!orOCCOld ^{Nfl " Nfl} NA 45 45 '

Tun':... p.in0 NA I'/A NA 20 6

I ,

^AlgeriaL;bvan '1\rab '.'. ^{11 15}

^Ie

^{17 17}

5£!

'2/ " "eJ '

~ ~~ma;'i!'iyaEtd~op",a ⁵4 ⁵4 4

~21

^4F£!

I

'§,~.E.:~'>.'" .Uni;ted Nations fadd and Atlrioult-tl.re ~f!....h:",tiont Yerrbook Pr-oduction<...l27.5;' 'fie1<i s'tudY' of Liarocco by the OCA/FAO Forest Industry Group and Foreign Trade Statistics of Tunisia.

~ Ca Lcu La.t-ed on the basis of total available production capacity in 1975 on the assumption that utilized capacity was the same as in 1974 (76 per cent).

'!d

Ff guro s for Tunisia reflect rough calculation on basis of export figures made on ar.sump't Lon that

70 -

75 per cent of production exported.

FAa estimates

- - - , - - - -

J9/

^{Lnc Ludfng} ~reascproof paper, lincrboard, sack kraft paper, other kraf':

paper, folding boxboard and corrugated board.

- 17 -

49. 'Morocco, Algeria and ,Tunisia appear to be the biggest producer countries, .. in developing jifrioa of these grades. In the late 1960' s f.lorocco i:laintained

a production rate" of between 36 and 39()()() tons and exported quantities of 14 - 15 000 rona to Europe. 'Official ,,"'duction figures for the period 1968 to 1975 are pot available. Exports have dropped to a few thousand tons, and consist mainly Of corrugated board and boxes. Algeria's .total production at paper and paper board during the last five years has been stable, amounting between 32 and 36 000 tons a yeat:'. About two thirds of this (20 ()(J(}tons)

~nsistsof printing paper and ~iting"paperand the rest of wrapping and packdng paper. 'In 1974 Algeria, starteJ produoIng small quantities,>"ck kraft and folding box-board, and it is expected that,production could be trebled and that 105 000 tons of sack kraft could be rro4uced per year. In 1975 Morocco's production capacity in these grades ,;as estimated at

24

000 tons.

Table 6: African im rts of wra in and ckin in thousands of tons

a I' and of ^I' board

1971 1972 1973 1974 1975

.1:\10 ir.:p;'rtcrc

, '

IYOry..Coast 17 12

27 25

15

Kenya 30 30 35 37

1~

Nigeria

16

13 15 19 1 a

Zambia

6

_{5 7 7}

?j/

^,

United Republic of

Tanzania 2 5 3 7 7

" ^"

,

Souree: National statistics and 'o~st Ind~striesGroup.

'!:.!

FAO estimates.

field surveys cr.r-r-Lcd ~ut ^by th" ~jJFAO

50. Algeri!. which in 1973 was still importing 30 000 tons, haa in recent years emar-ged as an exporter of some of these grades. The decre'as1ng 1mPort trend for the main im;x>rters is probably: due to an: increase in local production.,

African exports of wrapping and packing paper

51. In 1974 Tunisia exported 14 000 tons of various grades of packing paper and car-ton to the Lfbyan-Ar-ab Jamahiriya, EBypt, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and the Congo, whic,h represented a considerable i9Nase in its expor-tsj but in 1975 such' exports amounted to only

4

OOO'tons~ About half of Tunisia's exports of

these grades went to other African couner-Ies , In 1973 and 1974 Morocco exported paper prodUCts tC:)·AIGJ~fa·,'1richid1rigI

271

'tons ofkmft in 1973

arid

1

27Z

tons of corrugated cartons, , nd boxes to Guinea-Bissau, Guinea and the lvery ,Coast.

"

W

Tunisia, Statisti9ue du Commerce Extcrieur, 1974. 1975

"E:!

Royaume du .Iaroc ; Statistique du Commerce Exterieur

1973 .

- Ie -

52. There are good prospects for a substantial increase in intra-African trade in these products since production in the three main producer countries (Algeria, Horocco and Tunisia) is expected to increase in the short term. The most

likely markets are obviously in West and' Central Africa in Kenya. Fruit- exportingcour/cries lUm the Ivory Co"st are especially promising as markets

for bofrh wrapping paper and corrugated boxes, which are increasingly replacing wooden boxes, for the export of fruit, because they weigh less. Iilany of the leading fruit exporters, including the United States, have already started

using corrugated paper board for packing.' It is therefore likely that fruit • exporting countries in Africa as the Ivory Coast, Kenya and Swaziland, will

follow 'che ar- example. Special attent':'on should therefore be given to these countries and also toNigeri~whose i~ports of wrappings and packing paper and paper board are increasinrr rapidly.

II. OTHER lIANUFAcrURES

A.

Tea, producthon ;n developing Africa

53. Tea production increased from an average of

60 7:!5

tons per year during the period 1961 - 65, to 151 797 tons in 1973. However, in 1974 and 1975 there was a drop in productior: in spite of big harvests in Malawi and the United Republic of Tanza'l~'!" This drop was Kenya, due to severe drought in biggest producer country'""". The development of tea production in the main African prQducer countries can be seen in table 7 below.

Table Z:, 'llivelo ment of tea roduction in the main African roducer countries' in L1etric tons

1961-<55 1973 1974 1975 1976 Total developing Africa: 60796 151 797 150 432 148 499 155 000 Hain produeer;countries:

"

17 443 56 578 53440 56 256 62000 Kenya

i'alawi 12979 23 553 23 408 26 237 28000

Uganda 6 714 21 931 21

688.

18 409 21 000

I.k zambique

8

910 19 678 _l~

795'

^"17000 13 000 United Republic of

Tanzania 4

356

^{12 658 12 974 13 733 13000}

Zaire 7800 9104 10 014 6000 6 ooo~

LlauritiusRwanda" . 1 416266 4 0792803, 3 4323 432 40004000

4~

4 a

§£lt~: Food and Agriculture Organization of tho Unit'od !iati;:>na,

!:!1Q..

^Trade Ye.. rbook. Vol. 30 (Ror.tC, 1977)

~ FAO ilstimates.

J2/

Food and Agriculture Organization 'Of the United Nations, FAO Commodity Review and Outlook, 1975:-1976 (Rome, 1975).

- 19 -

54. ,As 9= be seen, production has continuously incre"sed in Ihl.:>wi, the Unare d Republic ,of Tanzcrrin and Rl;.)nd.:>, dec1inrd ^l in Ug:mda and rccOV<lT'ed in 1976 ;"lc!'d,Jpped in, NozOlohique Olnd':::>ire owipg to var-Lous factors "8 sbor-rage of manposer , Since 1973 Burundi has emerged as a tea producer, producing 1 000 tons in 1976.

African trade in te.:>

':>:>.

Tea exports from developing Afri= hils shown an increasing trend up to 1972, with a drop in 1974 due to the drought in 1973 and a recovery in 1975, as c an be seen from'the following; 'table. '

Table 8':' Afi'ic':t",' trade in tea' (in Lletric tons)

1971 1972 1973 1974 1975

1976

Totn1 exports f~

developing Africa 12 211 133

899

139 314 135 075 131636 143350 Llain African expor-tr

:ins

^cour¢ries

Kenya 41 688 52 970 56259 52348 55396 63002

Malnwi 18 157 19970 23023 25

4C3

24 150 29 630

I

lfozambd.que^{Uganda 15 263}16 395 ^2067':17 60,3 17545^{19 150 16 662}12604 ^{16 964}12 216 12300^{11 652}

Uni tee' Republic ^_....-.

- ;*""of Tarizand,a

8

415 9 203

9 4':15

9 677 10 367 11998

i

Source: Food arid Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, FAO,Trade,Yearbook, Vol. 30 _(R~)Jne, 1977)

56;0"' -There has 'been a steady and, in eorre cases, considerable increase, in tea' expor-t-s from Airic", pr-oclucer- countries, enrecial1yin the case of the United Republic of Tanzania, Ua1awi (with a slight drop in 1975), Bururidi

(rID'"

254 tons in 1971 to 541 tOIlS in 1973 and 1 1]6 tons in 1976) and '

H'<anda (3

653

tons in 1973 to 4

71

f9 tons in 1976). In 1975 and 1976,

Ken"e,

the leading exporter, recovered from a decline in 1974 due to the 1973 drought.

There were severe declines in the exports of Mozambique and Uganda owing to special circumstances; The decrease in intcernationa1 ~~'I- prices in 1975~76

may also have had

=

iLhibiting effeot on tef< e:qx:>rts.,#' " ' "

57. All African producers and exporters deal with black tea. This fact has some consequences as to export possibilities to othe-; African countries as two of the largest consumer !'.<Juntries in Africa are traditionally importers and consuroe ra of green tea, which is not produced in the region.

(See

'W

FAO

From 13~,6 US cents/kg in 1975 and 130.8 c~nts

Comr.JDdity Review nnd Outlank,

1975-1926).

in January 1976.

---_."---~,----'~---

- 20 -

580 Tbnufactured tea represents one of the most vah"'ble export products from thc stand point of the relationship weight/value and can, consequently, bear the cost of trr..nspor-ta.Hon relatively HelL This factor is especially important for 1and:-1ocl<:ed producer courrtr-Las like Uganda, Zaire, Burundi and Rwanda.

59. Total tea ir.Jports of developing Africa as a whole and of each of the principal importing countries are ShOWL in table 9.

~ble 9: Total tea ir.J arts of deve10 in Africa as a whole and of each of the priOlcipal importing cOlUltries in "",,tric tons

r-

^{1971 1972 1973 1974 '1975 1976}

I

ITotar deve16pingAfrica

' 91ge4

83 935 71 432 85 855 92680 89583 i·;iain African ..importers

-Egypf 11 002 137"6 9 803 14 Illl 23651 24917

Libyan Arab Jamahiriya 10 665 12 7[9 12 Q28 15 053 17 lOOF .17300 .

·Morocco 12 [55 12 367 10 056 15 910 13 561 12000

Sudan 14 145 l[ 033 16506 17 215 1041C 11100

Algeria 4 428 3

SEa

2 _~49 4175 ^~,

"'700

^'

3m

-Turusi a 3 )60 5 972 5 631 6 422 7 150 7141

Kenya 8 121 5697 3

896

^{3 032 3 025} 4 153

Somalia 2 371 3.226 1 560 1 452 1500 1600

i

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, FAO Trade Yearbook, VOl,,30 (Rome,J.977) •.--"

-_.-

^{..•'~. - , - ,-}

^.'-

60. As can be seen above , the North African countries account for approXimately eo-C5 per cent of total African tea imports and t~us represent the moat important market in the Region. l'loreover, imports and consumption in these countries is increasing sharply. This is especially evident in ~, Algeria, the Libyan Arab Jamhiriya and Tunisia. Moroccan imports in fact dropped in 1975. Kenya, A:',>c-ca<s la 1:"gest tea expo rtel' , has been LmporvtLng shrinking quanti ties of tea, probably of different quality than that produced domestically. This trend reflecxs enhanced dOfi~stic tea production and quality.

6L 'Of the main: mar-kets j Llorocco and Algeria are, as has been stated above, green tea markets and are, consequently importing their tea from outside the

region, whilst the Libyan Arab,Jamahiriya; Tuni a.i n , E~l'?t r.nd the Sudr.n are consumers maihly of black tea.

62. Kenya has its main expor-t markets in the European Economic Community.

In 1974 i t exported 22

965

tons to the United Kingdom and 5 109 tons to the Netherlands, while Canada and the Uiited States received 3 C·2£) and 6

060

tons, respectively. Kenya's biggest markets in Africa were Egypt which in 1974 Lmpcr-red 3 457 tons, and Somalia 1<hich inported 421 tons. &mller quantities Hem expor-ted to Ethiopia, Nigeria, the Sudan and Zampi,,:. In 1974 ,Uganda's

biggest expor-t mar-keru HaS the United Kingdom (5 739 tons) followed by the Netherlands

- 21 -

L. the African region, "Uganda' s biggest custorrcr was

lli>.u?t

(537 tons) follo,,",<:\

by tile Sudan (173 tons). The United Republic of Tanzania'~biggest export market was the United liingdom (5 021 tons) and the Nethorlands (2 377 tons), Canada and the United States imported 604 tons and 5[:0 tons respectively. The United Republic of Tanzania's biggertAfrican market f.lall·"Egypt(159 tons) with small

quantities exported to the Sudan and Zambiao

<:,

Thus, the bulk of the tea exported from the lcHoing African exporter is

",.li,:~ t.l Em:,'"" and Nor-th Azoorica, "ith Egypt being the only important African market. Imports from Africa do not, however, represent more than approximately 20 per cent of Egypt's total tea imports, the rest being imported from outside the region, mainly from Asia. None of the big North f,frican importing countries

(Algeria, the Ld byan Arab Jamahiriya, Tunisia arid blorocco) are at present importing tea from African producer countries. In the case of Algeria and Mor-occo this is explained by consumer habits as indicated above. However, the

f"At~rowingmarkets of the Libyan Arab J'amahd.r-Lya and Tunisia (>Jhich is predorainatly a black-tea' market) should 'dffer good opportunities to African tea exporters. .Tuni sd.an tea imports are based primarily on Long-e s'tab.lLshed trade links and 10nB-t,,= agreerents ;,i t'h and available transport facilities in traditional ex··..,rters in India, Sri Laiica and China. How ve r , the importers

(Office du Commerce de ].:.. Tun~;;i')) are ir:tcl-'ectoC: i:.~ diversifying their supply sources provided Long-ece'r-m supply contracts can ibe agreed on and reliable transport arrangements established.

64. The smaller but fast-growing Central African tea exporters, like Rwanda

a:~::.: L .ruriH G:) not expo:,·:; ^";0 other African courc r-Le.o pa , tLy bocause they are land·-locked and surrounded by other tea--producing countries, whi"h'makes even '.JOrder trade iopossible. The bulk of their tea exports goes traditionally to til;} European countries, e cpec LaLky to BeLg tuu and Luxeobur'g , However, Rwanda

z~j.d Bt:rtL'1di are. both interested Ln entering African narkets and tant their tea

'';0 go to t.heir clients ready packed. They should, therefore, concentrate on the lTopth African black-tea consundng countries. Howcver-, hil1 undi is preparing

a project aiued at the production of groen "LE:a Li order- to fEet

too

^conaurer-

r~C;·..i.re'.:..,nt.3. of f.lorocco and Algeria. This would give Burundi a virtual ucnopo Iy over othsr" Afria'.n producers in these Darlcetso Transport should not represent a r:·ii?.jor O~::'lDt2.cle since Af'r-i.oun tea is coopetitive in ove r-se ao I:arkets even though the tea produced in Burundi and Rwanda is shipped via Iiiombasa. The gre.ring

'" ':'o'I<317c ,-",:;ell 'wcrrtiy'the Launchf.ng oi a nar-ketLng drive by the Afric,m producer countries, especially in vil';,lof/of declining consunptlou in the U:1itcd Ki.ngdou and the United States, in 1975~

'Ttion in Africa

65.

L'1 1976 total coffee production' in devel0l'ing Africa was 1 235 000 tons, about one third of total l-JOrld production. Hhile at .rbe ,JOrld level production has been dec rea.s lng since 1974 (nainly because of frosts which have damaged the harvest in Brazil, the Jargeot preducer count-rv in the wor-Ld}, tfrica's production has been im'reasing si,nce 1961-65 (997 000 •. ons}, There Has a slight drop in 1975, but production recovered in 1976, rising fron I 1[3 000 to 1 215 000 tons.

?tV

,:the FAO Co=d±t:v Rey.!£.':'._andOutlook, 1975-1976;;hows that consunption

in the United Ki.ngdorn waD' 10 per cent lower in 107: tbDn i t ,.ra,q in the period 1969-71.