by Prof. Tanimu Balarabe, Director

G RICULT UR
A
A
OR
L
INSTITU T E
SE ARCH
RE
F
Balarabe TANIMU
Institute for Agricultural Research
PMB 1044,
1044 Zaria,
Zaria Nigeria
iar20002001@yahoo.com
SA MAR U
INTRODUCTION
Muslims are about 22% of the world's
population
 Abundant in human and natural resources
 Their share in the world gross domestic product
only a scanty 4.5%
 The OIC trade profile is only 7.8% of world
exports and 6.7
6 7 % of imports


This scant share is attributed to:
○ Stagnant growth
○ Deteriorating physical infrastructure
○ Institutional weaknesses
○ High population growth
○ Unemployment



Agriculture the most important sector in many OIC
co ntries accounting
countries
acco nting for over
o er 50% of total labour
labo r
force and more than 20% of total merchandise
exports (Table 1).
1)
Sector provides a primary source of foreign
exchange earnings
Agric. vital in providing a source of livelihoods for
a large percentage of the population
Table 1. Agricultural GDP and Agricultural Labour Force in the countries of the
Near East in 2008 (FAOSTAT, 2009)
C
Country
t
Agricultural
A
i lt
l
GDP
as
share of total GDP
Agricultural
A
i lt
l Labour
L b
Force
F
/
Total Labour Force
Algeria
8.6 %
24 %
A
Azerbaijan
b ij
18 9 %
18.9
27 %
Bahrain
0.9 %
1%
Cyprus
3.8 %
9%
Djibouti
3.7 %
79 %
Egypt
16.6 %
33 %
Islamic Republic of Iran
18.9 %
26 %
Iraq
33.2 %
10 %
Jo d n
Jordan
22%
2.2
11 %
Kazakhstan
9.2%
18%
Kuwait
0.4 %
1%
Kyrgyzstan
39.4 %
26 %
Lebanon
11.9 %
4%
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
N.A.
6%
Table 1. Count.
Malta
2.8 %
1%
Mauritania
22.4 %
53 %
Morocco
13.5 %
36 %
Oman
2.8 %
36 %
Pakistan
26.3 %
47 %
Qatar
0.5 %
1%
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
6.6 %
10 %
Somalia
N.A.
71 %
Sudan
37.2 %
61 %
Syrian Arab Republic
24.1 %
28 %
Table 1.
1 Count.
Count
T jiki t
Tajikistan
19 4 %
19.4
34 %
Tunisia
12.3 %
25 %
Turkey
16.2 %
46 %
Turkmenistan
27.3 %
33 %
United Arab Emirates
33%
3.3
5%
Uzbekistan
34.9 %
28 %
Yemen
15.3 %
51 %
Any attempt at development across the
member
b states
t t
should
h ld take
t k cognizance
i
off
both the role agriculture needs to play and its
contribution to development initiatives
 OIC is making
g various efforts to ensure
agricultural growth and food security
amongst member states
 One of such efforts is the promotion of trade
and expansion
e pansion of export
e port among member
countries

Despite efforts the successes of all the
member states in achieving their objectives
is less than satisfactory
 Prices
Pi
off staple
t l foods
f d have
h
seen increases
i
ranging from 30 per cent to 150 per cent in
2007 and 2008 (Oxfam reports).
reports)


The impacts according to the World Bank are:
 An
A
iincreased
d number
b
off malnourished
l
i h d people
l
worldwide by 119 million in 2007 and 2008 with a total
of nearly one billion people (967 million) worldwide
 Many Muslim majority countries are facing some of the
worst pains of this global crisis
 The number of poor in many Muslim countries has risen
since 2007 because of food inflation,, leading
g to food
related riots in many of these countries
 Ironically, these same economies are some of the most
agriculturally endowed in the world
World Production Rating of Some OIC Member States
According to UN's Food & Agricultural Organization

Pakistan




Bangladesh
g



Indonesia





buffalo/goat
b
ff l /
milk
ilk
(No.2/No.4)
chick-peas
p
((No.2))
sugar cane (No.5)
rice (No.4)
goat milk/meat (No.2,
No.4)
coconuts (No
(No.1)
1)
green beans (No.2)
tropical fruits (No.2)
eggs (No.3)
rice (No.3)
Global rise in food prices may continue unless immediate and long-term
measures on addressing food security are implemented
OIC Member States most seriously affected by
high and rising food prices

Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Chad, Côte
d'Ivoire, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Iraq,
Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Somalia,
Sudan,, Sierra Leone,, Tajikistan
j
and
Uganda (13 Nos. Countries)

No country is spared from this
phenomenon, as food security remains a
function of availability of food for both
domestic consumption and imports
Above listed countries require urgent
external assistance in food supply





Soaring prices of food items may cause political
instability in these countries especially since poorer
households spend up 80% of their income on food.
The main issue here is ensuring that food production
matches the ever increasing demand for
f food.
f
Despite the availability of huge arable lands in major
river
i
b i
basins
off the
h OIC Member
M b
S
States,
and
d the
h
human resources to engage in agricultural activities,
the agricultural sector is accorded low priority.
priority
For example, the total arable land area in the OIC
Member States is 277,321,000
277 321 000 hectares or about
11.57% of the total area.
IMPORTANCE OF INTRA TRADE AMONG OIC MEMBER STATES





Only four Muslim countries are classified as rich and they
b l
belong
t the
to
th oilil producing
d i nations
ti
while
hil 19 are classified
l
ifi d as
countries with medium and the rest as low-income ones.
The GDP growth rate of Muslim countries showed an average
decline in the last decade and one-fourth
one fourth of their population
still living below poverty line.
OIC has a vision to create a common market for goods and
services coordinate macro-economic
services,
macro economic policies,
policies exchange
rates, budget deficits and fiscal spending, and develop
physical infrastructure to ease transport and communications
across all borders.
borders
This vision makes sense for the small economies because the
common market would provide access to a wider trading and
investment environment,
environment inducing backward and forward
supply links and permit the economies of scale that make
countries competitive.
Thus, a range of manufacturing activities would be able to
operate on a larger scale, expanding the industrial base
necessary for economic transformation.
Table 2 Exports of agricultural products of regions by destination, 2008
World
2000
37.9
2008
100.0
2000 2000
2000-08
08 2007 2008 2008 Africa
100.0
3.2
2.8
10
13
17
Europe
18.1
50.1
47.7
1.6
1.3
9
11
14
Africa
7.9
18.5
20.7
0.6
0.6
12
17
24
Asia
6.1
17.9
16.1
0.6
0.5
9
5
15
Middle East
2.1
5.3
5.5
0.2
0.2
11
9
36
North America
2.0
5.3
5.4
0.2
0.2
10
-2
24
Commonwealth of
Independent
States (CIS)
0.8
1.0
2.1
0.0
0.1
21
28
39
South and Central
America
0.3
0.9
0.7
0.0
0.0
6
73
9
World
24.2
100.0
100.0
1.3
1.8
16
18
35
Middle East
15.6
57.1
64.3
0.7
1.2
18
20
43
Europe
2.6
21.3
10.7
0.3
02
7
22
0
Africa
1.8
3.5
7.6
0.0
0.1
28
29
28
A i
Asia
18
1.8
84
8.4
73
7.3
01
0.1
01
0.1
14
-12
12
17
Commonwealth of
Independent
States (CIS)
1.0
4.1
4.0
0.1
0.1
16
35
20
North America
0.5
2.7
2.1
0.0
0.0
13
28
17
South and Central
America
0.1
0.6
0.6
0.0
0.0
18
53
47
Middle East
WTO 2006 international trade statistics –
OIC vs World
Total intra
intra-exports
exports amounting
to $71 .8 billion in 2003, 11
member countries accounted
f 78% share,
for
h
whereas
h
th
the
share of 28 least developed
OIC member countries
(LDMCS) was merely 7.4 %
 Total exports in 2003 stood at
$28 billion or 0.4 % of the
world total and 4.8% of the
total for the OIC member
countries

An average of less than 10% of
intra-OIC
intra
OIC trade is what we
consistently witness



Asia s intra trade as a
Asia’s
percentage of the total
exports of the region was
51.2% in 2005
while South and Central
America’s was 24.3%
Among the 25 countries
of the European Union,
the figures are 66.8%
and 66.7%
66 7% respectively
Statistics clearly show the unenviable
record of OIC in terms of its intra- trade,
and hence the need for OIC to raise this
low level of trade
CHALLENGES/PROBLEMS AFFECTING
TRADE IN AGRIC.
AGRIC PRODUCTS
INTRA-OIC
 challenges/problems a result of natural
barriers,
b
i
man-made
d b
barriers
i
and
d //or nontariff or technical barriers and these
include:
1 Supply and production constraints
1.
constraints.
2. Social and political conflict.
3 Infrastructure constraints.
3.
constraints
4. Import and export restrictions.
5 Customs formalities; export procedures such as custom
5.
valuation.
6 The tariff barriers,
6.
barriers which often include some
discriminative (and at times illegal) high tax rates at
points of import/
p
p
export.
p
7. The nature of a country or regions infrastructure has an
important impact on its trade performance and
competitiveness.
8. Corruption in some economies is often a major
deterrent to potential investors and traders. This is
important in countries with corrupt administrations and
weak judiciaries
9. Absence of Value Chains and
Linkages
10 An Unpredictable Trade
10.
Environment
11.Inadequate Facilitation of CrossBorder Trade in Agricultural
Commodities
12.Absence of Harmonized Quality
and Product Standards
RECOMMENDATIONS
√
√
√
√
Major policy recommendations include the need for
policy
p
y makers to avoid frequent
q
p
policy
y reversals
caused by imports and export bans coupled by
increases in tariffs.
The need to eliminate licensing and reduce delays
in border crossings.
There is need to speed up policy harmonization
and capitalize on regional economies of scale.
The role and scope of existing OIC and
international agricultural trade agreements should
b clarified
be
l ifi d and
d diff
differences b
between
t
iintra-OIC
t OIC
bilateral agreements and regional policies
eliminated.
eliminated
√
√
√
√
√
Financial sector issues, (cross border payment
systems,
t
trade
t d financing)
fi
i )
Regional markets information and commodity
exchange should be established.
Export and import opportunities using
g statistical
analyses of trade flows within the OIC subregional
and regional markets
In-depth demand and supply surveys to establish
products that countries need and can offer on a
sector by sector basis
Business development opportunities by matching
potential importers with potential exporters
√
√
Proposals with effective deadlines for breaking
d
down
outstanding
t t di ttariff
iff and
d non-tariff
t iff measures
within sub-regional communities, and
establishing common trade documentation,
nomenclatures and other trade facilitation
instruments across OIC member states
Complementary trade promotion measures
measures,
including support at the enterprise level in
product and market development
development.
CONCLUSION





OIC nations would not want to be left behind in
developmental issues
The resurgence of political will and reformation in many OIC
countries would spur commitment to the development of the
agricultural sector of our economies.
The prospects for intra-OIC trade in agricultural products are
closely linked to comparative advantages in the various
countries
Harmonization of agricultural trade policies among OIC
countries would promote trade and enhance agricultural
growth.
Iff all the identified
f
problems are addressed by various
nations the prospects for intra-OIC trade in agricultural
products are enormous.
ASSALAMU ALAIKUM
THANK YOU