[00:00.100]From VOA Learning English,
[00:03.050]this is the Economics Report.
[00:05.890]The African Union has held
[00:09.280]countless meetings and conferences
[00:12.450]on how to increase trade between African countries,
[00:17.030]the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA)
[00:22.160]has organized similar gatherings.
[00:25.050]Yet these efforts have failed
[00:28.330]to lead to a increase in intra-Africa trade.
[00:32.420]Currently, African countries
[00:36.050]do only 11 percent of their foreign trade
[00:39.540]with other countries on the continent.
[00:42.430]By comparison, Asian countries do 50 percent
[00:47.610]of their trade with Asian countries.
[00:50.510]Last year, the world bank reported that
[00:54.640]Africa loses billions of dollars every year
[00:58.680]because of trade barriers.
[01:01.370]This past July, a U.N. report urged
[01:06.140]African governments to provide more support
[01:09.950]to private businesses,
[01:11.790]reduce trade barriers and expand public services.
[01:17.180]The slow progress makes it difficult for companies
[01:21.660]to do business in surrounding countries.
[01:25.040]Jittu Horticulture PLC
[01:28.240]is Ethiopia's biggest exporter of horticulture products.
[01:33.310]The company's General Manager Jan Prins says
[01:38.190]Ethiopia has huge possibilities for trade,
[01:41.980]but he says there are too many difficulties
[01:46.420]when attempting to trade with neighboring countries.
[01:50.100]"The major challenge is to reach these markets.
[01:53.290]And it can either be logistic problems
[01:56.120]like over flooded border areas, bad roads or no roads,
[02:00.160]trade barriers, political issues or security issues.
[02:05.040]For Ethiopia it is very difficult
[02:07.380]to reach the markets in the surrounding countries."
[02:10.430]Problems getting visas, corruption
[02:13.520]and high transportation costs are some of the barriers
[02:17.250]companies face when they attempt to trade within the continent.
[02:22.040]A truck in Africa will travel, on average,
[02:26.370]just nine kilometers an hour
[02:28.670]because of the many security or inspection stations.
[02:33.240]As a result, 40 percent of the cost of product is for transportation.
[02:40.060]Intra-Africa trade, both imports and exports,
[02:45.400]totaled $131 billion in 2011.
[02:51.020]African Union countries have agreed
[02:54.750]to make the continent a free trade zone by 2017.
[02:59.840]Treasure Maphanga is the Director of the AU's Trade and Industry Department,
[03:06.920]she says governments must make that goal
[03:10.800]of a continental free trade area a reality.
[03:14.390]"I see that in many countries there is political will
[03:19.660]that exists at a certain level.
[03:21.410]Intra-Africa trade does not just depend on one ministry,
[03:25.340]it does not just depend on the head of state.
[03:27.780]It depends on the whole government machinery.
[03:30.680]And coordinating toward a specific goal."
[03:33.360]The African Union will hold another conference
[03:36.540]on increasing Intra-Africa trade at the end of October.
[03:41.280]That is the Economics Report from VOA Learning English,