The exportation of intermediate products in Burundi is said to have contributed to the loss of revenue and job in the country, according to the Burundi Promotion Agency.
“We are missing the chances of creating employment because our industry is not yet able to change the composition of the products that we export and give more value to our products,” said Jean Claude Cibogoye the Head of the Export Promotion Department at the Investment Promotion Agency (API).
Mr. Cibogoye made the comments during the Association of Industrialists of Burundi organized a 3 days session from 26-28 of August 2021, at its 4th edition of the industrial and trade fair at the Source du Nil hotel in Bujumbura.
API Indicated that the export of the raw material or intermediate products do not benefit the country, but rather results in the export of employment opportunities.
During his presentation on international trade and export he proposed that the country should give more value to the products that are exported in order to advance from the stage of exchange of primary or intermediate products.
“For a country like Burundi which exports only raw material or intermediate products whose prices are always low while we only import manufactured products which are generally very expensive and always inflate,” he noted.
According to the promotion agency, Burundi’s trade balance is chronically in deficit due to the deteriorating in terms of trade.
A quarterly report from Burundi’s Bureau of Statistics (ISTEEBU) indicates that the value of Burundian trade and goods in different economic zones stands at
86.5 billion BIF for Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries (CEPGL), 84.5 billion BIF East African Community (EAC), 7.4 billion BIF for COMESA and SADC.
While COMESA is the first recipient of exports with 25.2 billion BIF , SADC with 21.0 billion BIF, CEPGL with 14.3 billion BIF and EAC 10.3 billion BIF.