Telling the trade stories of least developed countries

For as long as gender inequalities persist in international trade and in the key industries that drive economic growth in the least developed countries (LDCs), women and girls will not benefit as much as men and boys. Such inequalities are often more present in the most overlooked parts of production – among informal traders, small and microenterprises, but also among individual suppliers of raw materials and workers – many of whom are women. This is why over 60% of beneficiaries supported via the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) are women, and why the EIF launched the Empower Women, Power Trade initiative in 2019. An independent evaluation sought to gauge progress in achieving economic justice for all in settings where both poverty and inequalities are most prominent.

In Africa, the unique experience of each of the 16 million rural women who make a living from shea inspires us more and more every day. Shea is an important crop, both economically and socially. It employs 4 million women for export and generates USD 237 million a year in income at the community level in West Africa. At the household level, shea accounts for up to 12% of household income and up to 32% of cash available, which is earned during the lean season.

The Government of Benin established a partnership with the EIF in 2003, embarking on the development of a Diagnostic Trade Integration Study (DTIS) and Action Matrix, along with evidence‑based and government-led analysis of constraints and opportunities for making trade work for economic prosperity and poverty reduction. The DTIS was completed in 2005, with an update ten years later. Together, the studies have provided a roadmap for progress toward the goal of supporting small businesses to trade and develop the kinds of jobs that improve lives and spur sustainable economic development.

Yet the country is now Africa’s fourth largest pineapple exporter, and its trade of the fruit with the European Union (EU) increased by almost six times between 2000 and 2014, reaching between 400,000 and 500,000 tons a year. But in 2017 there was a major hitch when the government instituted a voluntary ban on exports to the EU because of high pesticide levels found in its fruit.

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