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Africa's trade potential: Export opportunities in growth markets

14/01/2013 05:06:51 AM

A 2012 ITC study, Africa’s Trade Potential: Export Opportunities in Growth Markets, considers how SSA can achieve sustainability in export revenues by increasing the share of value-added products in its exports. The analysis also identifies strategic...

Turning challenges into opportunities

14/01/2013 03:23:03 AM

More importantly, for developing and least developed countries, they also have a major bearing on how governments design and implement development and poverty reduction strategies, and pursue sustainable, inclusive economic growth, both at home and in...

Growth, innovation and inclusiveness

14/01/2013 02:58:06 AM

This autumn the International Trade Centre (ITC) has organized several events to ensure that growth, innovation and inclusion stay on top of the global trade and development agenda.At the World Export Development Forum 2012 (WEDF), held in Jakarta on...

Market access map: Pinning down export costs and regulations

25/09/2012 10:26:22 AM

The upgraded version of the tool was developed with financial support from the European Commission, World Bank and ITC Trust Fund donors, and has been available online since 30 June 2012 at macmap.org. Essentially, Market Access Map is a free of charge...

Export helpdesk: An online guide to accessing European markets

25/09/2012 09:11:06 AM

With a share of around 20% of global imports and exports, the EU is the world's largest single market. It needs the products it imports, be they mineral oil products; intermediate products for various industrial sectors such as electronic equipment,...

Improving the business environment for trade: Tackling non-tariff measures

24/09/2012 07:52:03 AM

During the past decades bilateral and multilateral trade agreements have led to a reduction in tariff-related barriers to global trade. But during the same period the world has experienced a steady rise in the number of non-tariff measures (NTMs). These...

Number munching: cashew nuts

03/09/2012 11:38:46 AM

Most people would associate cashew with nuts. More correctly, though, cashew nuts are really the seeds of the cashew tree (Anacardium occidentale). And while it is indigenous to Brazil, it was the Portuguese who first saw the commercial potential of...

Company contacts now in Trade Map

31/08/2012 09:16:43 AM

ITCArticleElcitra Site\Intracen Company contacts now in Trade Map ITC adds company data from more than 60 countries to Trade Map, improving the ability of companies to identify trading partners across the world. ITC Communications 2012-08-31 Users of the International Trade Centre (ITC)’s Trade Map

Barriers to trade focus of Thai visit to ITC

06/07/2012 11:40:13 AM

ITC’s Executive Director Patricia Francis on 4 July met a Thai delegation led by Yanyong Phuangrach, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Commerce, for a discussion on trade. He was accompanied by Mr Krisda Piampongsant, Permanent Representative of...

Free online tool for analysing trade and market conditions upgraded

28/06/2012 08:09:32 AM

Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) exporting from developing countries suffer the brunt of complying with market access conditions.To make market entry rules more transparent, ITC has redeveloped its online analysis tool Market Access Map, available as 30 June 2012. Users in developing countries and territories can use the tool at no cost...

ITC builds skills at the Trade Information Centre (TIC) in Khartoum, Sudan

18/04/2012 09:33:26 AM

Between the 2 and 4 April, ITC held a training course for 23 participants from Sudan’s Ministry of Trade on market profiling. ITC staff conducted the training in Khartoum itself, but also carried out a webinar remotely from Geneva, Switzerland, in order to improve the use of ITC’s Market Analysis Tools...

Breaking barriers, building business

30/03/2012 06:00:47 AM

Development as a global objective for improving the economic well-being of ordinary people is a relatively recent concept. It was first embodied in the Charter of the United Nations with: ’the United Nations shall promote higher standards of living,...

Environmental policy contributing to poverty eradication

30/03/2012 05:18:37 AM

When countries convene at this year’s United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio+20, both the venue, Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, and the overall objective of the conference, sustainable development, will be the same as 20 years ago at the...

Pinning down policies for international investment

29/03/2012 09:28:47 AM

Despite turmoil in the global economy, global foreign direct investment (FDI) rose by 17% in 2011 to US$ 1.5 trillion. This sum surpassed average global FDI before the 2008 financial crisis. However, the fragility of the world economy will have an impact...

Market Analysis Tools to remain free for 2012

27/12/2011 10:47:38 AM

ITC is pleased to announce its five online Market Analysis Tools - Trade Map, Market Access Map, Investment Map, Trade Competitiveness Map, and Standards Map - will remain free of charge for developing country users in 2012 thanks to financial support...

The advantage of awareness in accessing foreign markets: Tunisian institutions on track to successful networking for trade intelligence

28/09/2011 09:02:47 AM

Tunisia has a flourishing agri-food products industry, with a growing reputation for quality. Some 10.8% of the labour force was employed in agriculture in 2010, contributing to the fight against unemployment and sustaining livelihoods. Accessing...

Agri-business creating export value in Uganda and Senegal

28/09/2011 08:51:46 AM

Developing business in commodities such as coffee or tea or in fresh fruit and vegetables represents great potential for growth and employment in Africa. The challenge for these sectors lies in effective and efficient exporting to the right markets....

Agri-environment as a market opportunity

28/09/2011 08:37:57 AM

Through its Trade, Climate Change and Environment Programme (TCCEP), ITC is strengthening the competitiveness of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and trade support institutions (TSIs) in agri-environmental sectors in developing countries....

Agricultural commodity price volatility: How improved information and transparency can limit the swings

27/09/2011 10:14:14 AM

The resurgence of high food prices in 2010 awakened fears of a repeat of the 2007-08 food crisis, threatening increasing food insecurity, rampant food price inflation and civil unrest. While, fortunately, the worst fears have not materialized generally,...

Travel &Tourism beyond the downturn - a critical competitiveness driver for developing countries

25/07/2011 11:55:28 AM

Following a difficult period that recast much of the travel & tourism (T&T) industry’s landscape, the sector is slowly recovering from the economic downturn, with emerging market economies leading the way and advanced economies,...

Colombian Coffee - Challenges and Opportunities Ahead for the Colombian Coffee Growers’ Federation

11/07/2011 11:22:31 AM

For many years Colombian Coffee has being recognized as one of the most important coffee producers in the world. In response to changes in the global coffee market, the Colombian Coffee Growers’ Federation has successfully adapted its supply chain...

New Drivers of Global Value Chains

11/07/2011 10:59:45 AM

The long-term impact of the changing trade landscape on global value chains is being shaped by changes in standards regimes, exchange rates, investment flows and other key determinants such as climate change. While trading with fast-growing emerging...

The State of World Trade - Many Grounds for Optimism

28/06/2011 11:01:14 AM

Things seem subdued, if not pessimistic, in the world of trade. While the heated talk of global currency wars has cooled to some extent, major imbalances remain. The success of the Doha Round is still not assured. And although protectionist pressures...

New world order: Shifting markets in trade, investment and opportunity

24/02/2011 06:33:45 PM

In the aftermath of the global financial crisis, a new world order is emerging. It is a world of rapidly shifting markets characterized by changing patterns of trade, investment and opportunity. The developing world is increasingly becoming an important driver of the world's economy; South-South and intra-regional trade are growing rapidly; supply chains are changing; and opportunity exists in an environment where business flows in every direction.

Balance, harmony and sustainability in uncertainties: Trends of development of global economy in the post-crisis era

24/02/2011 06:33:33 PM

With the prospect of recovery from the global financial crisis, enhanced by stimulatory spending by national governments, there are forces at work that will assist in developing a sustainable recovery, although some lingering risks remain. Emerging markets can play a key role by continuing to strengthen their participation in global trade and investment with parallel measures aimed at stimulating domestic demand.

What are Chinese and Indian firms doing in Africa?

24/02/2011 06:32:59 PM

The sustained rapid growth of many African economies over the past decade and a half, bolstered by resilience during the recent global economic crisis, has been appreciated more by the countries of the South than those of the North, the traditional source of much foreign investment in Africa.

New opportunities in global outsourcing

24/02/2011 06:31:44 PM

With increasing globalization and technological developments that enable business processes independent of location, many countries around the world have become attractive sites for Western companies. While access to cheap labour was previously the dominant motivation, nowadays emerging markets compete more on availability and scalability of skills. The global services market has become highly competitive, and differentiation of service offerings and leverage of inherent advantages, including cultural and language affinities, set the scene for keen competition between offshoring destinations.

South Africa and Brazil: Furthering South-South trade

24/02/2011 06:31:07 PM

The considerable expansion in South-South trade, especially in the last decade, is seen as an exciting new phenomenon with a number of developing countries among the major trade partners. Trade and investment ties between South Africa and Brazil in particular have been strengthening, underpinned by the reach and influence these two countries enjoy in their respective continents. Despite short-term setbacks due to the global financial crisis, differing comparative advantage in products produced in the two countries provides many opportunities for expansion in two-way and regional trade and investment.

‘Market access begins at home,’ says ITC

11/01/2011 03:55:05 AM

A new ITC report on market access, transparency and fairness in global trade concludes that ‘market access begins at home’. It argues that further reducing barriers to trade between developing countries needs to be an essential part of the way forward...

LDC Trade Recovery in 2009

29/11/2010 09:51:09 AM

The impact of the global financial and economic crisis on the world’s least developed countries (LDCs) is illustrated by the latest figures released by the International Trade Centre (ITC). These show that during the first three quarters of 2009...