African Commodity Strategy

Aim

The objectives of the strategy are to find strategic measures to address price volatility and to use Africa’s wealth of natural resources and absolute advantage in the commodities market to ensure that Africa’s commodities are used for its industrialisation. A draft strategy was developed in 2016, which focuses on energy, agriculture and crosscutting strategies dealing with mining and industrialisation.

Progress to-date

The updated draft African Union Commodity Strategy was presented to the 2nd Meeting of the STC on Trade Industry and Mining in January 2019 and will be presented to an extraordinary Specialised Technical Committee (STC) of Ministers of Trade, Industry and Minerals for adoption.

Challenges

There is no dedicated unit nor staff to manage the day-to-day operations of the project.

Next Steps

• Establish a dedicated unit on African commodities;

• Undertake extensive consultations with Member States, RECs and other stakeholders to deepen ownership of the project; and

• Finalise the Draft African Union Commodity Strategy.