Agribusiness for Africa’s Prosperity. Country Case Studies
The following Box 5.3 provides a summary of Mali’s agro-industrial subsector’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT). Box 5.3: SWOT diagram of Mali’s agro-industry STRENGTHS
WEAKNESSES
low unit labour costs in the textile industry
low standard of animal health, low quality of leather
large livestock population
low and/ or unpredictable quality/ quantity of raw material, such as cashew nuts and shea
large freshwater fish producer large potential market for special cotton fabrics (booboo, pagne) quasi-monopolies of (West) African producers (unique selling points): néré, cashew, shea
difficulties in meeting minimum efficient scale in areas such as standard cashew processing low level of bacteriological quality in smaller milk processing units low level of technology in the textile industry lack of appropriate machinery, such as in néré peeling, leather processing, cashew and shea transport impediments, such as for fresh fish and cashews lack of adequate packing for processed food insufficient domestic purchasing power for soft drinks import competition (condiments, wheat flour, oil)
OPPORTUNITIES
THREATS
national marketing of fish
environmental damages of cotton production
export of hides and skins and tanned leather
comparatively low level of economies of scale to be exploited in textile industry
condiments based on néré domestic market potential for sugar, confectionery
upward trend of F.CFA vis-à-vis the $
processing organically grown cashews with labourintensive techniques, and marketing kernels internationally
overfishing
processing of cashew apples to marmalades and juices
dumping of second-hand clothes employment reduction by efficiencyenhancing techniques in fishing
international marketing of shea butter, shea-based soap, etc. upgrading the textile industry by foreign direct investment
Source: C. Inauen, Helvetas Partnerschaft, August 2007, p. 11.
Policies for developing agro-industries Deepening economic reforms Policies affecting agro-industrial development in Mali include reforms of the economic system, macroeconomic, sector, and regional policies, as well as the interaction with the private sector, especially industrial policies for specific value chains. The following points should be considered by policymakers: Continuing privatization policies After independence, state-owned enterprises hold monopolies in almost all the country’s economic activities. Since 1988, the government has carried out a comprehensive privatization programme. By 2000, in the agro-industrial sector the government was still the majority share-holder in the Compagnie Malienne pour le Développement des Textiles (CMDT), the main player of the cotton sector from seed to export, as well as in staple food distribution, slaughterhouses, and tobacco
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