The Potential of ACP Countries to Participate in Global and Regional Value Chains: A Mapping of Issues and Challenges

The report examines the integration of ACP countries into global value chains (GVCs) and regional value chains (RVCs), highlighting significant heterogeneity across the group. It identifies critical barriers to entry, including poor infrastructure, weak institutional frameworks, and low business sophistication. The analysis suggests that while some countries like South Africa and Mauritius are more globally integrated, many others face fundamental challenges in basic trade-enabling requirements. The authors argue against protective industrial policies, instead recommending horizontal measures such as improving the rule of law, investing in workforce skills, and enhancing transport and energy infrastructure to attract multinational corporations.

• ACP countries are generally integrated into global value chains (GVCs) to a very limited extent, hindered by their small economic scales and the prevalence of small-scale producers.
• The ACP group exhibits extreme heterogeneity in development and geography, with 37 African countries classified under low human development, while the majority of Caribbean countries are highly developed.
• Export structures for the ACP group are heavily dominated by mineral fuels, lubricants, and related materials, which accounted for 55% of all exports in 2012.
• Institutional quality is a primary barrier to GVC participation; most ACP countries suffer from high corruption and weak property rights, with Botswana being the only African country classified with low corruption.
• Infrastructure and logistics performance are significantly lower in ACP countries compared to non-ACP benchmarks, with South Africa being the only lead performer in the group.
• There is a critical lack of business sophistication and innovation capacity across the ACP group, which limits their ability to upgrade to higher value-added activities.
• Small and remote island states, particularly in the Pacific, face unique challenges such as high transportation costs and a lack of joint action in sectors like tuna fisheries, where they capture only $1.5 billion of an estimated $7 billion in value added.
• The report argues that 'horizontal' policy measures—such as improving education, infrastructure, and the rule of law—are more effective for GVC integration than 'vertical' industrial policies or local content requirements.

APA

Draper, P., Freytag, A., & Fricke, S. (2015). The Potential of ACP Countries to Participate in Global and Regional Value Chains: A Mapping of Issues and Challenges. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/ACP-Countries-Global-Regional-Value-Chains-Mapping-Issues-Challenges.pdf

Chicago

Draper, Peter, Andreas Freytag, and Susanne Fricke. The Potential of ACP Countries to Participate in Global and Regional Value Chains: A Mapping of Issues and Challenges. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2015. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/ACP-Countries-Global-Regional-Value-Chains-Mapping-Issues-Challenges.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Draper |first1=Peter |last2=Freytag |first2=Andreas |last3=Fricke |first3=Susanne |title=The Potential of ACP Countries to Participate in Global and Regional Value Chains: A Mapping of Issues and Challenges |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=September 2015 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/ACP-Countries-Global-Regional-Value-Chains-Mapping-Issues-Challenges.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{draper2015potential, author = {Draper, Peter and Freytag, Andreas and Fricke, Susanne}, 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 = sep, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/ACP-Countries-Global-Regional-Value-Chains-Mapping-Issues-Challenges.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }