The virtual workshop on the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) that will be hosted by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic) on Wednesday, 11 October 2023 will be an opportunity for South African sectors of chemicals, cosmetics, plastics and pharmaceutical to get acquainted with the benefits offered under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The private sector has been informed on the benefits offered under the agreement thanks to the dtic’s provincial awareness workshops, which provided a platform for information sharing.
The workshops were also used to identify South African companies in various provinces, in the targeted sector masterplans and other priority sectors that have the capacity to export to the rest of the continent.
More workshops focusing on different sectors are being organized.
The workshop seeks to engage the chemicals, cosmetics, plastics, and pharmaceutical sectors, as well as industry agencies, associations and export councils, including their members on the benefits of exporting under the AfCFTA.
In addition, the workshop seeks to communicate and engage with the private sector, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), as well as women and youth-owned export ready businesses, on the status of the implementation of the AfCFTA, including opportunities for South African companies to participate in preferential trade beyond the Southern African region.
Chemicals, cosmetics, plastics and pharmaceutical sectors are important to the South African economy as they play a critical role and are interwoven with the manufacturing sector which creates much needed employment.
South Africa is Africa’s largest market for cosmetics and personal care products.