Unified tariffs needed to enhance Intra-ECOWAS trade

A CALL has been made for a unified tariffs and custom regime in the West African sub-region to promote intra-ECOWAS trade.

Contributing to the discussion at a buyer-seller meeting on furniture and wood products, held at the ongoing ECOWAS Fair in Lome, Mr Kwamena Haizel, Assistant Manager, Marketing, Information and Development, Timber Industry Development Division (TIDD) of the Ghana Forestry Commission (GFC), said tariffs based on weight are a hindrance to trade in the timber sector within the West African sub-region.

He noted that difference in temperatures and weather conditions in West African countries affects the weight of wood from one place to the other and, therefore, not a good basis for determining tariffs and taxes in the sector.

Speaking at the Third ECOWAS Trade Fair, Mr Haizel called on West African countries to adopt Ghana's system and to calculate tariffs and taxes on wood based on volume to facilitate intra-ECOWAS trade.

He noted that the weight of wood from the coastal part of the sub-region will be different when transported to the Sahelian Region because of the changes in weather, which will affect the moisture content of the product and lead to discrepancies.

Leading discussions at the meeting, Mr Theodore Kofi Markhan, Chief Executive of T-Mark Limited and a trade and private sector development consultant, noted that West Africa is endowed with natural tropical rain forest from which timber for furniture and other wood products originates.

He, however, said some areas are more endowed than others while some countries have more developed wood processing industries.

Mr Markhan said those with more advanced processing industries have also destroyed most of their tropical rain forests and mentioned Ghana, Nigeria and Cote d?Ivoire, which have recently taken reforestation seriously with the adoption of environmental protection measures to achieve sustainable development.

He said trade data indicate that while some ECOWAS States regularly export log overseas, other member states import finished wood products from abroad.

This indicates that there are overlaps and untapped trade potential in wood product in the sub-region, Mr Markhan said.

He, however, pointed out that imported furniture and wood products into the ECOWAS zone are relatively sophisticated.