Sierra Leone's preferential market access to key markets for sugar & palm oil
Sierra Leone is a Least Developed Country in Africa and this has given us the opportunity to export varieties of goods to the United States under the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). Producers in these areas will be permitted to export products to the US duty-free.
At the current time, all cane products - sugar, molasses, ethanol, etc. and oil-palm products (palm oil, palm kernel oil, oilcake from palm, palmitic acid, etc.) are classified as eligible products, although the US can change the list of products unilaterally and does so regularly. The current act remains in force until September 2015.
Again Sierra Leone has a current agreement with the European Market under the Everything But Arms (EBA) agreement, which will make producers of these products in the country have permission to export to the EU duty-free and quota-free.
All cane products - sugar, molasses, ethanol, etc. and oil-palm products - palm oil, palm kernel oil, oilcake from palm, palmitic acid, etc. are eligible for unlimited duty-free access to the EU
Until 2012, as a Least Developed Country (LDC), Sierra Leone will still benefit from transitional price arrangements which guarantee a price of €300/tonne ($450) for ACP-qualified sugar imports, even if market prices fall below this level.
Sierra Leone has a well balanced rainfall across the country and it is the highest in West Africa. This gives the country added advantage over other countries in the sub region and there are nine rivers in the country that help in the transportation of these products.
Because of the rainfall and the virgin lands scattered all over the country, the target land areas are compatible with environmental and social needs.
Unlike many parts of the world, cane and palm cultivation in Sierra Leone can be managed in such a way that operations do not displace food production or sensitive ecosystems.
Sensitive areas tend to be clustered along coasts; wetlands and Western Area forests and wildlife.
Also along inland borders with major forest reserves and wildlife habitats and around major mountains and hilly outcrops none of the target areas for cane or palm cultivation overlap with these zones.
Extensive cultivation of cash crops also would not displace local food crop production in the country as Sierra Leone has a total land area of 7.2 million hectares; of this, 5.4 million are suitable for agriculture, but less than 1 million are utilized.
The main food crop, rice, is grown primarily in swamp areas along coasts and low-level “boliland” pockets in river flood plains and upland “bush fallow” systems; livestock grazing is mainly in highlands in the North.
The opportunity exists for investors to meet the highest standards of environmental and social responsibility, thereby further enhancing their competitive edge in the EU and US markets Target.
Read related news articles
Sierra Leone mining dispute threatens US firms
The decision by Sierra Leone to shut down the operations of U.S.-owned SL Mining has called into question that government’s commitment to the rule of law with regard to foreign investors. Since the mid-1990s, the U.S. Government has initiated various programs to boost U.S.-Africa trade and investment – from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) to the Prosper Africa initiative that was launched in 2018. The success of these...
17 April 2021
Sierra Leone to launch its AGOA response strategy
The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), an initiative of the United States Government, allows low-income countries to access the US market on very favourable trade terms. The implementation of the new AGOA Strategy will allow Sierra Leone to benefit from duty free access to US markets when exporting products produced in the country. The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) in collaboration with the International Growth...
11 February 2019
Sierra Leone: Workshops offer training before Sierra Leone’s AGOA national strategy launch
Ahead of Sierra Leone’s U.S. African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) strategy launch, two Trade Hub-hosted workshops for national officials focused on AGOA standards and other customs procedures. The Freetown trainings, hosted on November 15 and 16, attracted participants from Sierra Leone’s Department of Foreign Trade, the Executive Office of the Permanent Secretary, and the Department of Domestic Commerce and Trade at the Ministry of...
28 November 2017
Sierra Leone: Trade opportunities opened with the US
The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) was signed into law by President Clinton in May 2000 with the objective of expanding U.S. trade and investment with sub-Saharan Africa, to stimulate economic growth, to encourage economic integration, and to facilitate sub-Saharan Africa’s integration into the global economy. The Act establishes the annual U.S.-sub-Saharan Africa Economic Cooperation Forum (known as the AGOA Forum) to promote...
13 September 2017
Sierra Leone News: Private sector yet to benefit from AGOA trade
Since the African Growth an Opportunity Act (AGOA) was launched by United States Government 17-years ago to promote industrialization, Sierra Leonean based companies are yet to export their produce to the US market due lack of proper documentation and certification. However, the Chamber of Commerce Industry and Agriculture (SLCCIA) has engaged private sector executives on the Africa Growth Act (AGOA) documentation and certification of local...
18 July 2017
American Business Council launched in Sierra Leone
The American Business Council of Sierra Leone (ABC) has recently been officially launched as a forum for United States and Sierra Leonean companies to strengthen commercial ties between the two countries. The American Business Council according to Scott Risner Economic and Commercial Officer Embassy of the United States of America in Sierra Leone will engage local businesses and the Government of Sierra Leone through the Ministry of Trade and...
12 June 2017
Sierra Leone: Local producers trained on AGOA trade benefits
The Sierra Leone Investment and Export Promotion Agency (SLIEPA) in collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the West Africa Trade and Investment Hub yesterday organized a one day sensitization workshop for executives of local companies at the Hub Hotel Wilberforce in Freetown. Sharka Kawa Export Development Officer of SLIEPA spoke about the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and it export...
25 January 2017
West Africa: US and West African countries work towards trade deal
The United States is working with West African countries to reach a trade and investment agreement that supports efforts at economic growth and integration as American companies increasingly look toward Africa for business opportunities. U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis told AllAfrica that discussions on the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) with the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) took place last...
05 April 2013
Sierra Leone: Four products certified for US export
The Africa Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) has certified four made in Sierra Leone products to be sold in the United States of America and Europe after meeting the required standards. According to the Chairperson of the Sierra Leone National Committee for the Africa Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) of the Sierra Leone Chamber of Commerce Industry and Agriculture Ms AyodeleWak Williams, the four products to be sold in the United States...
01 February 2013
Sierra Leone: Take Advantage of AGOA
The Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr. Kadie Sesay has said in Freetown that the West Africa Trade Hub (WATH), a USAID Africa trade development project based in Accra, Ghana and Dakarr Senegal, is made up of experts who help countries and businesses to take advantage of the US Africa Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA). She was speaking at the end of a three-day national workshop on Sanitary and Photo-sanitary (SPS) Regional Harmonization,...
07 July 2006