D-8 Member States Record $129bn in Trade Volume in 25 Years

James Emejo in Abuja

The Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Maryam Katagum, has said trade volume among member states of the D-8 Organisation for Economic Cooperation also known as the Developing-8, had increased to $129 billion from $13 billion within 25 years of the organisation’s existence.

The minister said trade among the D-8 member states also accounted for $ $4 trillion in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and export amounting to $1.5 trillion within the period.

Speaking at the D-8 Forum on SMEs and Health Market in Abuja, Katagu, said going by the performance, the organisation could now be considered to be a leading global economic player.

This came as the Director General, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agencies of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Mr. Olawale Fasanya, lamented the difficult operating environment in which small businesses operate in Nigeria.

According to him, the last survey of MSMEs in Nigeria recorded a drop of more than two million MSMEs largely as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and other local and global socio-economic interplays.

The D-8 is an organisation for development cooperation among Nigeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Pakistan, and Turkey.

The organisation seeks to among other things improve member states’ position in the global economy, diversify and create new opportunities in trade relations, enhance participation in decision-making at the international level, and improve standards of living.

The minister, however, stressed that it has become imperative for the group to more than ever before improve on its strategy for global economic dominance, adding that this can be achieved through innovative ideas as well as a greater commitment to growth and development among member states.

She said the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), which came into effect at the 20th session of the Council remained an important incentive, which is designed to boost intra-trade among member states.

She said it is, therefore, expedient for the member states to complement the initiative with policies that will stimulate economic growth and prosperity.

Specifically, the minister said priority should be accorded to the development of the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises sub-sector as one of the key areas that will accelerate the growth and development of the group’s collective economies.

She said, “It is a fact that SMEs have been known to be critical to the growth and development of not just the D8 member states but also to economies that are regarded as developed.

“This vital sector provides a significant number of jobs, contributes massively to the GDP, broadens revenue base and a major contributor to skills and capacity development. In member states SMEs contribute an average of 40 per cent of GDP in addition to job creation.”

The minister said aside from the peculiar challenges that MSMEs are faced with, the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent conflict between Russia and Ukraine have taken tolls on national economies with MSMEs being the worst hit.

She pointed out that the cost of production by MSMEs is becoming unbearable making them not very competitive in the global market space adding that the situation is even made worse by insecurity, natural disasters (flood and wild fire) occasioned by climate change.

“These underscore the need to pay special attention to our MSMEs to drive employment generation, wealth creation and income redistribution. As important as the MSME sub-sector is, there is a need for us to continually remind ourselves of the challenges that it faces in order to provide the needed panacea for its survival, growth and development.”

Also, speaking at the occasion, the Director General, Small and medium Enterprises Development Agencies of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Mr. Olawale Fasanya, said the high cost of production experienced by most MSMEs in Nigeria had further reduced their ability to be globally competitive, adding that the use of technology has made access to markets borderless with significant negative impact on our local MSMEs.

He said small businesses are not only confronted with the issues of the high cost of production but also reduced access to competitive markets.

According to him, the last survey of MSMEs in Nigeria recorded that there was a drop of more than two million MSMEs largely as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and other local and global socio-economic interplays.

Fasanya said, “My worry now is that another count of MSMEs in Nigeria may show a further decrease in their number as new emerging global issues are regularly been thrown up. The impact of a stunted or decreasing MSME sub-sector is a dwindling GDP, increased insecurity, high rate of unemployment, and several other social vices, especially among the youth population.

“Globally, the MSME sub-sector plays a major role in job creation, wealth distribution, resource utilisation, and contributions to national Gross Domestic Product. As emerging economies, the MSMEs hold the key to development in all the D8 member states as in other developed economies.

“It therefore implies that a well-developed MSME sub-sector and integration among D-8 Member States will add value to the cardinal objective of the establishment of the organization with a focus on economic integration among members while also achieving the SDGs.”