Many emerging economies – from the Middle East & Africa (MEA) to Latin America to parts of Asia – have seen great economic growth and the rise of digital transformation. Even before COVID-19, the increase and potential of cross-border digital transactions – such as with the likes of financial technologies (or fintech) – has grown; the pandemic further accelerated that. For those that follow international trade news, a major headline has been the new African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) that began into force this year. It brings the majority of African Union member countries, which the continent as a whole is home to over 1.3 billion people, a free trade agreement. Free trade agreements are nothing new, but specifically with emerging economies, how can they use it to their advantage by promoting overall economic development and also opening digital borders? OVERVIEW OF FREE TRADE Simply, a Free trade Agreement (FTA), according to the International Trade Administration (ITA), is an agreement between two or more countries that agree on something pertaining to trade in goods and services. Topics that can be covered and could be protected include the likes of intellectual property rights, protections of certain industries – to name a few.  Examples include the likes of the former North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) – now known as the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) that was championed by former US President Donald Trump. An FTA also sets a foundation for more integrated relations that can stem into a customs union – such as South America’s MERCOSUR and even more intertwined such...

The amount of cargo handled by Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) dropped in the second quarter of this year due to lower vessel numbers at the Mombasa port. A report by the company shows total cargo hauled stood at 451,208 tonnes in April, which went down to 383,109 tonnes in May and 378,977 in June. KRC said the performance was “relatively steady” with the report noting that out of the total freight carried by Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) operator Afristar in June, bulk cargo accounted for 115,920 tonnes, with container cargo registering 263,057 tonnes. “SGR performance between June 2020 and June 2021 was remarkable, with the total twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) standing at 284,815 tonnes, bulk cargo tonnage at 366,008 while the total tonnage for the fiscal year was 4,584,173 tonnes,” the report said. To enhance cargo evacuations, KRC and the Afristar do double-decker stacking of 80 wagons to maximise capacity, with each of the two trains ferrying 152 TEUs per trip to the Inland Container Depot (ICD) in Nairobi. Meanwhile, a special tandem double-engine train hauling 70 wagons of 140 TEUs has been added to reduce any cargo pile up and “make Mombasa the port of choice for domestic and transit cargo”, KRC said. The corporation noted that due to close operational cooperation between it and other partner cargo logistics agencies such as Kenya Ports Authority and Kenya Revenue Authority, it has been able to sustain direct loading of cargo onto wagons and containers and offtake to ICDs in Nairobi...

Foodborne diseases are thought to impose a health burden on society comparable to the "big three": malaria, HIV/AIDs and tuberculosis. Common foodborne diseases affect tens of millions of people every year. They include salmonellosis, which causes stomach upsets, norovirus, which can cause severe vomiting and diarrhoea, and listeriosis, which can cause severe infections of the bloodstream and brain. Children and people with weak immune systems are affected most. Foodborne diseases can enter the food supply chain - from the farm to our tables - at many stages. For instance, most low-income consumers source their foods from informal markets. For food to get to these markets, there are many actors involved and this makes it difficult to regulate activities. Infrastructure that supports good hygienic handling of food in these markets, such as potable water and refrigeration, is normally lacking. Meat, fish, seafood and fresh vegetables are the most risky from a food safety perspective. This is because they act as a reservoir for many pathogens and provide an excellent medium for pathogens to survive and grow. Cereals are less of a food safety risk as they are not handled multiple times, and present a less attractive medium for pathogens to survive. We wanted to know whether the COVID-19 pandemic's restriction measures were having an effect on food safety. To understand the extent of the problem in East Africa we surveyed experts on food safety in the region. The countries included in this study were all those in the East African Community (except Rwanda) along with Ethiopia. Data were collected in...

The East African Community (EAC) will this financial year prioritise harmonisation of air charges and taxes in a bid to reduce the cost of intra-EAC air travel, according to Mr Adan Mohamed, the Council of Ministers chairperson. While reading the EAC 2021/22 budget, Mr Mohamed, who is also Kenya's Minister for EAC, said the civil aviation and airports sub-sector, although there has been some delays, will focus on implementation of the EAC Upper Airspace Seamless Operations earmarked under the 2017-22 project. During this financial year, he said, the region will implement strategies that seek to reduce the cost of intra-EAC air tickets and air operations. This, Mr Mohamed noted, will be achieved through harmonisation of air travel-related charges and tax regimes, which feed into the price of air travel. EAC has one of the most expensive flight routes, with Entebbe-Nairobi taking the lead. However, despite the high cost, air travel within East Africa has been growing, rising by 3.4 per cent in the past decade against a global rate of 5.5 per cent. It is estimated that 43 per cent of air ticket prices in EAC comprise of regulatory charges and taxes, with regulatory fees accounting for up to 24 per cent. According to a research commissioned by the East African Business Council about air liberalisation, it was found that harmonisation could lead to a reduction in air fares by 9 per cent. The reduction, the report noted, would lead to a 41 per cent increase in frequencies, which in...

One prediction at the outbreak of COVID-19 was that Africa could be the epicentre of fatalities from the pandemic. This hasn't happened. The record of rate of infections, fatalities and recoveries shows that Africa is the second least affected region of the world. The fear that Africa would be the epicentre of the pandemic was fuelled by a few factors. One was the presence of overcrowded informal settlements. Another was weak systems in many countries and the inadequate number of medical personnel across the board. In addition, hospitals lack critical equipment such as testing kits, personal protective equipment and oxygen machines. Most countries adopted national strategies, such as closing borders. Others took a more regional approach. In a recent study I looked at what role regionalism played in containing the pandemic. The porous borders between many countries in Africa presented additional challenges – as well as opportunities – for a regional response to COVID-19. I concluded that a regional approach did help in containing the pandemic because of the opportunity it provided for sharing resources, information, training and testing. For example, effective monitoring and deployment of testing equipment at the borders contributed to limiting cross border transmission of the virus. But I also concluded that, for the future, there is a need to build more regional health infrastructure that can help the continent manage new epidemic outbreaks. Reasons for a regional approach Since March 2020, African countries have adopted various measures to manage the COVID-19 pandemic. Beyond the national responses...

In Summary A report by Kenya Railways indicates that daily wagon supply fluctuated between 400 to 500 in the three months to June. The months of May and June saw depressed volumes due to lower vessel numbers. Cargo haulage on the Standard Gauge Railway has remained steady despite a decrease in the number of vessels calling at the Port of Mombasa. Total cargo tonnage was at 378,977 tonnes in the month of June, a slight drop from 383,109 tonnes that had been recorded in May and 451,208 tonnes in April, with Kenya Railways Corporation affirming stable operations in the three months. A report by the corporation indicates that daily wagon supply fluctuated between 400 to 500 in the period under review, with the May and June period seeing depressed volumes due to lower vessel numbers. "To enhance cargo evacuations, Kenya Railways and the SGR operator, Afristar have ensured that the double-decker stacking of 80 wagons are utilised to full carriage capacity, with each of the two trains conveying 152 TEUs per trip to the Inland Container Deport in Nairobi," Kenya Railways said in a statement. Meanwhile, a special tandem double Engines train hauling 70 wagons of 140 TEUs per haulage has been added to reduce any possible cargo pile up at the Port of Mombasa. Out of the total freight carried by the SGR operator Afristar in June, bulk cargo accounted for 115,920 tonnes, with containerised cargo registering a tonnage of 263,057. The SGR performance between June 2020 and June...

At the heart of all that Malawi desires to achieve in agriculture are extension and advisory services. But we can report that extension services in Malawi are suffering badly under the weight of fertiliser subsidy largesse. Funding patterns in the past 17 years Malawi has implemented fertiliser subsidies show that while extension services, like all the pillars in the Ministry of Agriculture, have been starved of funding, fertiliser subsidy programme has been swimming in public money, literally. In that period, government has allocated over K700 billion to fertiliser subsidy alone, with the allocation grabbing between 30 and 59 percent of the total agriculture budget in more than 12 of the 17 years. One study by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) found that between 2007 and 2012, Malawi spent 52 percent of the agricultural budget on fertiliser subsidies, but only one percent went to extension services in that period. Over the past two months, we have visited a total of 30 subsistence farmers individually in Lilongwe, Machinga, Zomba, Kasungu and Dowa to appreciate extension services activities on the ground. We have also examined District Social and Economic Profiles (SEPs) and other records covering 20 of the 28 districts of the country, alongside speaking with several district agriculture officers and extension workers. We can report that extension services are underfunded, understaffed and ill-equipped they are standing on fragile legs. All the 20 districts we covered fall way down government’s own recommended ratio of one extension worker to 750 farmers. For...

WTO members had a first exchange on 11 June on how to monitor Aid for Trade ahead of next year’s Global Review. The discussions at the Committee on Trade and Development were informed by a 10 June workshop on the circular economy. The committee also received updates from donors, international organizations and South-South partners on their Aid for Trade activities, including on “green” projects that promote economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Committee on Trade and Development Aid for Trade Session The Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) exercise that will underpin the Aid for Trade Global Review, due to take place in mid-2022, was one item discussed by members at the meeting. Ambassador Mujtaba Piracha of Pakistan, the chair of the committee, outlined the process that he envisaged would lead to the Aid for Trade Global Review based on the theme “Empowering connected, sustainable trade”. The need to facilitate economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic was highlighted by some members as a theme to be explored. Members noted that the Aid for Trade Stocktaking event last March was a first attempt to survey the trade impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Another theme that several delegations highlighted as a topic for consideration was the gender dimension to Aid for Trade and how it can contribute to the work in the Informal Working Group on Trade and Gender. Several WTO members provided overviews of their Aid for Trade activities. The European Union updated members on the European Green Deal and the Third Gender...

The tourism potential of the two secondary cities bordering lake Kivu, Rusizi and Rubavu, is being boosted by the Rwanda Urban Development Project (RUDP), a World Bank-funded project meant to provide better roads, street lighting and drainage systems, residents as well as officials there say. The project aims to provide an integrated package of support to address challenges associated with Rwanda’s urbanization: access to basic infrastructure to promote livability and local economic development; upgrading unplanned areas to promote inclusive urbanization; and supporting districts to engage with the private sector and enable economic development. To fund the project, World Bank injected $95 million and the government of Rwanda contributed $5 million; for all the country's six secondary cities and parts of the City of Kigali. In Rusizi, for example, a new asphalt road that connects the 60-room hotel, Centre Diocesain Pastoral Incuti. According to Father Benjamin Bapfakurera, the three-star hotel's Managing Director, when the hotel opened in 2012, roads around it were in a dire state and this hampered business. Bapfakurera said: "At the time, getting here was very difficult. But now, with this new road, it is a far better place. Our guests are happier because of the very good road on the shores of this beautiful Lake Kivu which many visitors want to come and see and enjoy the scenery." "The road and street lights really enhanced our business. When the road was done, we were inspired too and we upgraded and increased rooms from upwards of 20 to...

The U.S. business groups have urged the Biden administration to remove punitive tariffs on U.S. imports imposed by the previous administration, as tariffs continue to hit American businesses and consumers while pushing up inflation pressures. HIGHER PRICES FOR CONSUMERS “Due in part to these tariffs, the U.S. is now an island of high metal prices, where manufacturers pay 40 percent more for steel compared to their global competitors,” several industry associations representing hundreds of U.S. manufacturers of home appliances, electrical and foodservice equipment, wrote in a recent letter to U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai. “These higher costs mean that finished goods produced by U.S. companies cannot compete with cheaper, imported versions, putting American manufacturing jobs at risk,” the letter said, urging the Biden administration to lift the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs that were initiated three years ago under the administration of former president Donald Trump. “These companies are suffering from prolonged and impactful shortages of steel, aluminum, and other key components, which has resulted in record high prices and long manufacturing lead times,” the letter said. The letter came after a group of over 300 U.S. manufacturing companies last month urged President Joe Biden to immediately terminate the restrictive steel and aluminum tariffs. “Without termination of the tariffs, this situation will worsen if Washington moves forward with an infrastructure bill to invest in America, as these projects will create more strain on domestic steel and aluminum supplies, causing delays in construction and risking manufacturing jobs,” the group...