"Analyse markets, Museveni urges African countries"

AFRICAN countries should conduct a thorough analysis of markets that exist internally, regionally and internationally to fully take advantage of opportunities that exist in these markets, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has said.

President Museveni told Zimbabwean businessmen at a dinner hosted in his honour on Tuesday that the identification of these markets would help in determining what countries can produce and the quantities needed.

Uganda pushed maize production from 200 000 tonnes a year to 1,2 million tonnes, but there was no market so the prices plunged and growers stopped producing. Milk production increased from 200 million litres to 1,3 billion litres, but until the country introduced a feeding scheme for all schoolchildren, the market was too small.

"In South Africa, I understand that the government has introduced a system where the prison service buys South African products only; that is another way of encouraging the growth of the internal market," he said.

President Museveni said the biggest challenge facing African countries was access to markets.

"In Africa our combined market is US$550 billion, which is a small market for the 830 million people on the continent, and when we compare that with the market for the United States, which is about US$11 trillion, we see that their market is 22 times bigger than ours."

Markets were small because Africans did not have money because they did not have jobs, having exported the jobs.

Full Article : zimbabweherald.com