Trade between East African Community member states has increased by 60.75 percent from $3.72 billion when the Common Market Protocol was launched in 2010 to $5.98 billion in 2018, latest trade data shows.

The Common Market Protocol has boosted trade in the region by easing cross-border movement of goods and people, though numerous non-tariff barriers (NTBs) continue to hold back the region’s potential.

The volume of trade among EAC member states increased rapidly between the years 2010 to 2013, but dropped for three consecutive years from 2014 to 2016.

The EAC Trade and Investment Report shows that the value of intra-regional trade increased 9.4 percent to $5.98 billion in 2018 from $5.46 billion in 2017.

This growth was partly attributable to EAC member countries’ increased preference to trading with each other to offset falling demand for the region’s products in European and US markets.

According to the report, all EAC member states save for Burundi recorded growth in trade with their regional counterparts.

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