The potential of ACP countries to participate in global and regional value chains: a mapping of issues and challenges

This report examines the limited integration of African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries into global value chains (GVCs) and explores the potential of regional value chains (RVCs) and South-South cooperation as viable pathways for these nations to enter world trade.

• Global value chains have shifted the nature of international competition from a focus on comparative advantages of industries and businesses to a competition between workers and their specific skills, with countries specializing in tasks rather than exclusively in goods and services.
• African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries have very limited integration into GVCs due to their significant heterogeneity in economic development and geography, as well as small economic scales and a prevalence of small-scale suppliers, which complicates coordination with multinational corporations.
• Regional value chains (RVCs) and South-South cooperation may serve as a practical intermediate step for ACP countries to integrate into world trade before attempting to enter more demanding global value chains.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2015). The potential of ACP countries to participate in global and regional value chains: a mapping of issues and challenges. https://saiia.org.za/research/the-potential-of-acp-countries-to-participate-in-global-and-regional-value-chains-a-mapping-of-issues-and-challenges/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. The potential of ACP countries to participate in global and regional value chains: a mapping of issues and challenges. 2015. https://saiia.org.za/research/the-potential-of-acp-countries-to-participate-in-global-and-regional-value-chains-a-mapping-of-issues-and-challenges/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=The potential of ACP countries to participate in global and regional value chains: a mapping of issues and challenges |date=2 August 2015 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/the-potential-of-acp-countries-to-participate-in-global-and-regional-value-chains-a-mapping-of-issues-and-challenges/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2015potential, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{The potential of ACP countries to participate in global and regional value chains: a mapping of issues and challenges}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2015}, month = aug, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/the-potential-of-acp-countries-to-participate-in-global-and-regional-value-chains-a-mapping-of-issues-and-challenges/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }