The European Union partners with the International Trade Centre, a joint agency of the United Nations and the World Trade Organization to support the Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini in export market analysis.
The International Trade Centre’s market analysis tool Trade Map will support export market access and drive sustainable growth in the Kingdom of Eswatini.
Trade Map is an online database of international trade statistics that has been providing useful indicators on export performance, international demand, alternative markets, and the role of competitors from different global markets since 2001.
It covers the annual trade flows of over 220 countries and over 5,300 products. It also offers trade indicators such as values, trends, quantities, trends, market share as well as monthly and quarterly data from both developed and developing countries.
To give small businesses and private-sector associations in Eswatini access to this tool, the International Trade Centre (ITC) is working closely together with the European Union (EU) and the Government.
The EU is supporting the initiative under its project ‘Support Programme to the EU-SADC Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) in the Kingdom of Eswatini’. The project specifically supports trade and export development to create EPA opportunities and support trade and investment promotion bodies and small businesses.
The EU and ITC are currently running capacity trainings to equip business support institutions with knowledge and tools for analytical outputs and the EU-SADC-EPA as well as other international trade agreements. Participants were drawn from the Eswatini Investment Promotion Authority (EIPA) and the National Agricultural Marketing Board (NAMBoard), Eswatini Water and Agricultural Development Enterprise (ESWADE), Eswatini Economic Policy Analysis and Research Centre (ESEPARC), Eswatini Leather Association, COMESA Federation of Women in Business (COMFWB) Eswatini chapter, and Eswatini Multipurpose Cooperative Union (ESWAMCU).
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‘This tool will allow us to share information with the business community and puts us in a better position to advise on available market opportunities. It also offers an analysis of trends in terms of products that are doing well or that are being discontinued in global markets. Best of all, it’s readily available to everyone.’ – Bongani Ntshangase, Executive Head of Trade, Eswatini Investment Promotion Authority.
‘We see this free-market access tool as a contribution to driving growth. It will help further facilitate business and trade relationships across continents and help micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises to increase their visibility and market opportunities.’ – Luis Miguel Pascoal, EU Programme Officer.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of International Trade Centre.
Source: Apo-Opa
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