The Commission on Enterprise, Business Facilitation and Development will address the key issues of transport, logistics and global value chains. It will also consider its progress made since the eleventh session as well as during the 2004-2008 quadrennial UNCTAD cycle.
Transport and logistics
Many developing countries´ firms, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), find their competitiveness reduced due to high transport costs and their low connectivity to global transport networks, combined with weak productive capacities.
An insufficiently developed overall business climate with inadequate transport and trade facilitation and a sub-optimal service infrastructure can undermine a country´s ability to attract investment and participate successfully in international trade.
Global value chains
Global value chains (GVCs) are interdependent economic systems with complex coordination mechanisms which require efficient logistics and infrastructure solutions to run smoothly.
This means that policies should ensure that the trade-supporting institutional and physical infrastructure within the circuit of GVCs is effectively improved, especially for SMEs. This is an important prerequisite for enterprise development and consequently the development of productive and trade capacities.
Policy response
While a good physical infrastructure is important, SMEs often find it just as problematic to deal with dysfunctional institutional settings and related inefficiencies.
Adequate and targeted policies therefore require prior analysis and understanding of the needs of GVCs, including those in the area of logistics, and a subsequent focus on how SMEs´ entry into these GVCs can be facilitated.
Progress report
The commission will consider progress in work mandated since the eleventh session as well as during the 2004-2008 quadrennial UNCTAD cycle.
It will examine work done in the areas of improving the competitiveness of SMEs through enhancing productive capacity, as well as efficient transport and trade facilitation, to improve participation by developing countries in international trade.
