Officially unveiled last April, the innovative Madagascar Trade Information Portal or PICM (www.pic.commerce.mg) provides the general public with a wealth of essential information to facilitate trade, both nationally and internationally. It offers easy, centralized access to a variety of data, including national and international trade regulations, statistical analyses, and detailed procedures for export, import and transit operations. The PICM also hosts various data on product prices on local and international markets, as well as on raw materials available in Madagascar, offering increased visibility on business opportunities. Initiated by the Ministry of Industrialization and Trade in collaboration with the National Committee for Trade Facilitation (CNFE), the PICM represents a major step forward in the simplification and centralization of trade data in Madagascar. Part of the Corridor Development and Trade Facilitation Project (PACFC) financed by the African Development Bank (ADB), the PICM strengthens Madagascar’s regional integration with SADC, COMESA and Indian Ocean Commission countries. According to the AfDB, “the PICM is a support tool made available to all players in the trade and investment ecosystem to respond decisively to the need for transparency, predictability and facilitation of economic and commercial activities, on the one hand, and to the imperative need to comply with commitments to the World Trade Organization, in particular the Agreement on Trade Facilitation, on the other.” The implementation of PICM has been entrusted to renowned international consultants, namely MEDIANET and FTHM, thus ensuring the quality and reliability of this centralized, free and user-friendly digital platform.
Collected by R.Edmond