The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) approved a $400-million revolving global credit facility agreement for the Export Trading Group (ETG).
Export Trading Group (ETG) is among the largest and fastest-growing integrated agricultural conglomerates in Africa.
The funds will address key challenges faced by African agricultural exporters, aggregating large values of produce in order to enable small and medium-scale enterprises(SMEs) access to regional and international markets.
The agreement will not only allow ETG to keep playing its vital role in the agri-foods supply chain of efficiently connecting African farmers to markets but also expand access to key inputs to boost agricultural productivity in a continent with tremendous but yet unrealized potential.
Africa spent over $90 billion on food imports in 2019 despite possessing up to 60 per cent of the world’s remaining arable land according to Afreximbank.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Africa’s agricultural production of up to 50 per cent is lost every year from farm-to-market due to challenges ranging from sub-optimal use of inputs to improper post-harvest storage, processing and transportation facilities.
The COVID -19 has intensified these challenges by disrupting supply chains, heightening price volatility and could further undermine household consumption.
ETG expanding its work in these areas will reduce post-harvest losses through better access to yield-enhancing inputs and more robust networks to get output to regional and international markets. It will also help boost the scale and productivity of African farmers to position Africa as the world’s breadbasket as well as support the vital flow of food supplies across the continent amid the disruption triggered by the pandemic
“Afreximbank remains committed to supporting African nations to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic; at the same time, we remain focused on boosting agricultural productivity and accelerating the diversification of exports to strengthen the resilience of African economies. This facility will not only support African farmers through the disruption caused by the pandemic but will provide added impetus to ETG’s vital work connecting the continent’s small and medium businesses to the agricultural networks and avenues critical for growth.” Said Kanayo Awani, Managing Director of Afreximbank’s Intra-African Trade Initiative.
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