Commencement of trade under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) has been pushed to a tentative date in January next year.
AfCFTA's Secretary General Wamkele Mene said African governments are currently focusing on the fight against the pandemic, saving lives and livelihoods.
During that period, we had intended to complete some pending technical elements, such as rules of origin -- products made in Africa -- for some sensitive sectors, the exchange of tariff concessions on goods trade and commitments on trade in services which are critical in the negotiations," said Mr Mene.
The AfCFTA secretariat said in order for the continent to recover from the crisis and to spur growth, there was a need to implement the continental trade agreement since it is an opportunity to develop Africa intra-trade.
Mr Mene said due to the pandemic, African exports are expected to decline from 53 per cent in 2019 to less than 30 per cent this year due to travel restrictions abroad due to Covid-19 containment measures.
