U.S. Agribusiness Trade and Investment Mission

From March 10–14, 2008, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA/FAS) will conduct an Agribusiness Trade and Investment Mission to the West and Central Africa Region. Participant countries include Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Ghana, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.

Constance Jackson, Associate Administrator of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service, at the opening plenary on March 10, 2008, of USDA's West and Central Africa Agribusiness Trade and Investment Mission in Accra, Ghana, with Ghanaian Agriculture Minister Ernest Debrah next to her.

The main objective of this mission is to promote U.S.–Africa agribusiness cooperation, trade, and investment. The West and Central Africa region mission will focus on the following sectors: dry grocery products, horticulture, food processing, beer and spirits, seafood, livestock genetics, and production inputs. Nineteen American companies have registered to participate in this mission.

With the passage of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), the opportunities for American agribusinesses looking to enter or expand their presence in Africa are increasing. AGOA has helped to boost two-way trade between the United States and sub-Saharan Africa by 17 percent from 2005 to 2006, reaching almost $71.3 billion, with growth both in U.S. exports to and U.S. imports from the region. Total U.S. imports from Africa increased to $59.2 billion, with U.S. exports to Africa increasing to $12.1 billion.

References:
Ghana: Media Demand More Answers to Agoa - AllAfrica.com
Africa Offers Trade Opportunities - Farm Futures
US Mission To Explore Investment Opportunities In West/Central Africa - blogpost