非洲农产品出口推动对更好的冷链基础设施的需求

 

 

 

 

非洲长期以来一直依靠其丰富的景观、肥沃的土壤和相对可预测的天气来提高农业生产力,这对非洲大陆的收入做出了重大贡献。根据经济合作与发展组织和联合国粮食及农业组织的报告,农业、林业和渔业至少占非洲大陆GDP的17%。

例如,农业仍然是东非最大经济体肯尼亚最大的部门,到2022年约占国内生产总值的24%,雇用约40%的劳动力。同年农业和农产品占肯尼亚出口的60% ,展示了农业在推动该国经济增长和恢复能力方面的重要性。

农产品出口总量的40%以上需要冷链处理。肯尼亚花卉出口 约占欧盟 (EU) 进口的 40%。此外,到2022年,新鲜食品占肯尼亚农产品出口的20%,该国约有200个出口商站专门为出口市场采购水果和蔬菜。刺激农业投资将带动农业增长。

 

非洲食品出口

在整个非洲,情况都是一样的:跨国公司、政府和私营企业不断增加对农业的投资,都在争夺这块蛋糕。再次以肯尼亚为例,政府正在实施一项由九部分组成的农业刺激计划,作为该国 2030 年愿景发展计划的一部分。这些努力旨在促进研究和创新、与商业部门合作、加强农业组织、提高产品质量,甚至重新调整政策以鼓励该行业。

此外,国际投资者正在投入急需的资金来扩大该国的农产品出口。例如,欧盟宣布向“非洲商标”投资 2500 万美元,用于商业环境和出口增强计划,预计这将促进肯尼亚的出口。

非洲冷链物流需求不断增长

投资者希望利用并推动非洲的农业生产力潜力。通过对提高产量和减少收获后损失措施的正确投资,农业生产力将会提高 东部和南部非洲增加了 2-3 倍。

与一个可能的食品价值增加800%到 2050 年,加工农产品贸易仅在东部和南部非洲就将增长 90%,因此有充分理由升级支持非洲农产品贸易的基础设施。

不仅非洲大陆,国际市场对农产品的需求也在增加。今年1、2月中国上海口岸接收货物超过100美元价值百万的非洲农产品,较上年同期大幅增长。

非洲农产品出口主要集中在西欧、南亚和东亚、中东和北美四大市场。这些地区都有严格的卫生标准,特别是在处理易腐烂物品时,这些物品需要从农场到价值链末端的可追溯性。

尽管由于相当大的关税和非关税障碍,非洲农产品在进入国际市场方面历来遇到困难,但非洲大陆从不断扩大的农业部门中获益的潜力巨大。由欧盟资助并由 TradeMark Africa 管理的商业环境和出口增强计划等举措,通过遵守基本标准和法律,协助贸易商建立通向国际市场的桥梁。

马士基东非地区董事总经理卡尔·洛伦茨表示,随着非洲农产品需求的增长,支持贸易的基础设施需求也在增长。冷链物流在收获后立即开始,包括产品到达消费者的供应链旅程的所有阶段,将大大有助于帮助非洲打入新市场并在现有市场中发展。

 

 

 

Africa has long relied on its rich landscapes, fertile soils, and relatively predictable weather to drive agricultural productivity, which contributes significantly to the continent’s income. According to a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, agriculture, forestry, and fisheries account for at least 17% of the continent’s GDP.

Agriculture, for example, remains the biggest sector in Kenya, East Africa’s largest economy, accounting for approximately 24% of GDP and employing approximately 40% of the workforce in 2022. Agriculture and agricultural products accounted for 60% of Kenya’s exports in the same year, demonstrating the importance of agriculture in driving economic growth and resilience in the country.

More than 40% of total agricultural exports required cold chain treatment. Kenyan flower exports account for roughly 40% of the European Union’s (EU) imports. Moreover, in 2022, fresh foods accounted for 20% of Kenya’s agricultural exports, with approximately 200 exporters stations in the country exclusively sourcing fruits and vegetables for the export market. Stimulated investment in agriculture will drive agriculture’s growth.

 

African Food exports

Across Africa, the story is the same: growing investment in agriculture by multinational corporations, governments, and private firms all vying for a piece of the pie. Again, using Kenya as an example, the government is undertaking a nine-component agricultural stimulation plan as part of the country’s Vision 2030 development program. The efforts aim to promote research and innovation, collaborate with the business sector, strengthen agri-organizations, improve produce quality, and even reorient policies to encourage the sector.

Furthermore, international investors are putting much-needed money into expanding the country’s agricultural exports. The European Union, for example, announced a $25 million investment in TradeMark Africa for the Business Environment and Export Enhancement Programme, which is anticipated to boost Kenya’s exports.

 

Demand for cold chain logistics in Africa is growing

Investors want to capitalize on and drive Africa’s agricultural productivity potential. With the correct investments in yield improvement and post-harvest loss reduction measures, agricultural productivity would increase by 2-3 times in Eastern and Southern Africa.

With a possible increase of 800% in the value of food, and 90% growth in the trade of processed agricultural products by 2050 in Eastern and Southern Africa alone, there is a strong rationale to upgrade the infrastructure that supports agri-food trade in Africa.

The demand for agricultural products is increasing not only on the continent but also in international markets. January and February this year, ports in Shanghai, China received more than USD 100 million worth of agricultural products from Africa, a significant increase over the same period the previous year.

Africa’s agricultural exports are focused on four major markets: Western Europe, South and East Asia, the Middle East, and North America. Each of these regions has strict sanitary standards, particularly when it comes to handling perishable items that require traceability from farms to the end of the value chain.

Although African agricultural products have historically experienced difficulties in entering international markets due to considerable tariff and non-tariff obstacles, the continent has great potential to gain from its expanding agriculture sector. Initiatives such as the Business Environment and Export Enhancement Programme, which is funded by the EU and managed by TradeMark Africa, assist traders in building bridges to international markets by adhering to essential standards and laws.

According to Carl Lorenz, Maersk’s Managing Director of the Eastern Africa Area, as demand for African agricultural products grows, so does the need for infrastructure to support the trade. Cold chain logistics, which begins immediately after harvest and includes all phases of the product’s supply chain journey to the consumer, will go a long way toward assisting Africa in breaking into new markets and growing in existing ones.