Just when Africa started to embrace the world, it is now being confronted with the rising tide of populism and nationalism from the developed nations. The outcome of Brexit in the United Kingdom and the election of Donald Trump in the United States resulted from popular rejection of free trade and globalisation. As a result, this popular outrage against the political establishment is forcing many political leaders in the developed world to re-assess, focus on and tackle their own domestic issues. Hence, the African continent is falling off from their main agenda. Unlike in the past, when Africa mainly depended on the assistance of the developed economies, the rise of the Asian economies brings about new opportunities for economic cooperation and partnership for Africa. Africa and Asia trade relationship According to data from the International Trade Centre, from 2006 until 2016, trade between the two largest continents in the world increased from US$167bn to $292.9bn, a 75.4% increase. This is in spite of the fact that the Africa-Asia trade dropped from its peak of $423bn in 2014 due to the fall of commodity prices. The main exports from Africa are hard and soft commodities, while Asia exports machinery and manufactured goods to the African continent. Africa exported about $108.1bn to Asia in 2016; the top-three African exporters are South Africa ($22.3bn), Angola ($18bn) and Egypt ($11bn). Their combined exports represented 47.5% of the total African exports. As for imports from Asia, the top-three African importers are South Africa ($32.4bn), Egypt ($24.7bn) and Algeria ($15.6bn). They represent...

The unstable trade relations between Kenya and Tanzania could be facing another test over tariffs on milk and dairy products, which Nairobi says are contrary to the East African Common Market Protocol. Just when trade relations between the two countries seemed to be normalising after disputes that had been ignited by import bans in April, a meeting that had been planned for August 19 was postponed to September 9. Kenya plans to petition Tanzania to remove the $0.9 per litre tariff on milk and milk products. The tariff is being blamed for the significant drop in Kenya's dairy exports to Tanzania, which dropped from $20.8 million in 2015 to $1.8 million last year. Removal of tariff At the September meeting aimed at ironing out issues that caused the trade dispute, Kenya will be pushing for the removal of the tariff as it is contrary to the EAC protocol that guarantees freedom of movement of goods in the region. "The Tanzania tariff on milk and milk products is not in line with the EAC Common Market Protocol, and it is important for us to negotiate for harmonisation of tariffs for our products to compete," Margaret Kibogy, the Kenya Dairy Board managing director, told The EastAfrican. Although Kenya's dairy exports to Uganda attract minimal charges, the high tariff imposed by Tanzania is against the East African Community spirit of deepening trade, she added. Milk and milk products were some of the products in the trade war between the two countries that was...

THE East African Community (EAC) is moving towards getting energy solutions for the regional block as part of the integration factors. The EAC Deputy Secretary General, (Productive and Social Sectors), Mr Christophe Bazivamo, informed the second executive board meeting of the East African Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (EACREEE), that as the EAC integration was business oriented, energy was key to promoting trade in the region. A communiqué made available by the EAC Secretariat here from Kampala, Uganda where the meeting was taking place had the secretary noting that for some time now the region's development was troubled by low access rates of energy, where high price of the services and poor cooking solutions were partly to blame for the situation. "Low energy access rates, expensive electricity and poor cooking solutions have been hampering the region's development," Mr Bazivamo was quoted as saying. He reminded the meeting that the original plan of EAC was to have EACREEE as an EAC institution, but due to financial constraints, other innovative ways were devised and hence College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology (CEDAT) was selected to host EACREEE as a Centre of Excellence. The secretary disclosed that efforts were underway for the EAC through the Inter -University Council of East Africa to ensure effective management of the EAC Centres of Excellence through the harmonisation of management guidelines. The meeting was attended by members from partner states except South Sudan and was a follow up of the first meeting that was...

Japan and India have finalised a blueprint for developing Special Economic Zones (SEZ) in African countries, an attempt aimed at countering the expanding Chinese footprints in the continent. The first SEZ, Indian companies will be taking part of, will come up around Mombasa port in Kenya, which is being developed with Japanese assistance. Around 10 Indian companies have evinced interest in being part of the SEZ which will focus on infrastructure, pharmaceutical, fertilisers and manufacturing. Mombasa port is the gateway to the East African market, where Indian firms have considerable influence and presence. “Indian companies have large presence in the region and Japanese companies have advanced technologies, both of them coming together for Africa is a win-win situation for both countries,” Japanese ambassador to India Kenji Hiramatsu told Hindustan Times in a recent interview. India and Japan are warming up to Africa in a way amid China’s rapidly expanding economic and strategic influence in the resource-rich continent. Both the countries aspire to become permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and the African union has 54 members, one third of the total membership of the United Nations. Indian officials said New Delhi has been partnering with Japan for the development of African continent based on what two countries can do together for “economic prosperity and capacity building and development of the countries in the continent.” China’s new military base in Djibouti — first in the region — has raised concerns in many world capitals as this showed China’s...

Standard Bank Group Ltd Ugandan unit plans to raise $3 billion (Sh309 billion) for a crude pipeline by the second half of next year as the country prepares to start oil production by 2020. Stanbic Bank Uganda was appointed alongside Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp as joint financial adviser for the 1,445-kilometre (898-mile) pipeline, Patrick Mweheire, the chief executive officer of the Kampala, Uganda-based business, said in an interview. The companies will explore raising bank debt or loans from export credit agencies among the options they are considering, he said, without giving more details. The pipeline will connect Uganda’s Hoima oilfields in the west to the port of Tanga in neighbouring Tanzania. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and his Tanzanian counterpart John Magufuli commissioned the construction of the $3.5 billion (Sh360.5 billion) pipeline earlier this month. Kampala said at the ceremony to lay the foundation stone for the project it picked Tanzania over its other neighbour Kenya as the route for the proposed 24-inch export pipeline because it was a “least cost and least risk” option. “Tanzania offered several concessions to make the pipeline profitable inspite of the falling global crude oil prices,” said Museveni. The earlier proposed Kenyan route would have run through a northern region near the border with Somalia, from where Islamist militants have launched attacks on Kenya, prompting Uganda to pull the rug under her neighbour’s feet. Tanzania agreed to waive taxes, offered to take up shares in the pipeline project and charge a tariff of $12.2 per...

The EAC Deputy Secretary General, (Productive and Social Sectors), Mr Christophe Bazivamo, informed the second executive board meeting of the East African Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (EACREEE), that as the EAC integration was business oriented, energy was key to promoting trade in the region. A communiqué made available by the EAC Secretariat here from Kampala, Uganda where the meeting was taking place had the secretary noting that for some time now the region’s development was troubled by low access rates of energy, where high price of the services and poor cooking solutions were partly to blame for the situation. “Low energy access rates, expensive electricity and poor cooking solutions have been hampering the region’s development,” Mr Bazivamo was quoted as saying. He reminded the meeting that the original plan of EAC was to have EACREEE as an EAC institution, but due to financial constraints, other innovative ways were devised and hence College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology (CEDAT) was selected to host EACREEE as a Centre of Excellence. The secretary disclosed that efforts were underway for the EAC through the Inter -University Council of East Africa to ensure effective management of the EAC Centres of Excellence through the harmonisation of management guidelines. The meeting was attended by members from partner states except South Sudan and was a follow up of the first meeting that was held on June 10, 2016. Addressing the board members, the Chairman of the Executive Board and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry...

Protracted trade dispute between Nairobi and Dar es Salaam has hit Kenya's dairy sector hard with the value of exports to Tanzania dropping by 80 per cent between 2014 and last year. Data from the Kenya Dairy Board (KDB) indicates exports to Tanzania dropped to Ksh130 million ($1.3 million) last year from Ksh648 million ($6.3 million) the previous year. The regulator attributes the reduction to trade restrictions by Tanzania on Kenyan products. Tanzania is one of the key markets for Kenyan milk products but Dar es Salaam has imposed tariffs that make it hard for dairy product to access the market. Dar es Salaam levies Ksh10.25 ($0.1) for every kilo of milk exported. “These tariffs need to be abolished because they are taking a toll on the products that we export to Tanzania. This is not in the spirit of the East African protocol that allows goods from regional states to access any of the market without restrictions,” said KDB managing director Margaret Kibogy. The MD noted that Tanzanian milk products do not attract levies when entering the Kenyan market, adding that Tanzania should reciprocate the gesture. KDB said trade between the two countries kicked off well this year but the ongoing standoff, if not resolved soon, will drastically eat into export earnings. In the first half of the year, dairy exports to Tanzania earned Kenya Ksh141 million ($1.4 million), surpassing what was recorded in the 12 months of 2016. This week, Tanzanian officials put off a meeting intended to...

Rwanda's coffee export revenues and volumes recorded during the last financial year fell below projections by the National Agricultural Export Board (NAEB), the body’s annual report indicates. The country realised $58.5 million (Rwf49.7 billion) from coffee exports during the last financial year (July 2016 to June 2017), below $60.7 million (Rwf51.6) billion) registered during the previous fiscal year, indicating 3.61 per cent a drop in earnings, the report shows. This was also lower than $67.8 million (Rwf57.6 billion) the agro-exports body had projected to earn from the beans during the reporting period. The drop was despite a relatively better price on the global market, averaging $3.16 (Rwf2,686) per kilogramme compared to $3.10 (Rwf2,635) per kilogramme the year before. NAEB attributed drop in coffee export receipts to the low coffee volumes sold in the period under review. The country exported 18,502,442 kilogrammes of coffee against 19,560,636 kilos sold in 2015/16 fiscal year (FY). This was a decrease of 5.41 per cent year-on-year. Presently, over 400,000 small households depend on the crop for their livelihoods, growing mainly Arabica coffee. The crop is one of the top traditional foreign exchange earners for the country. According to the report, green coffee produced from July 2016 to June 2017 amounted to 18,439,111 kilogrammes, which shows a decrease of 1,590,215 kilogrammes or 7.94 per cent below 20,029,326 kilogrammes produced the previous year (July 2015 to June 2016). “This situation can be attributed to severe dry season registered from July to August and December 2016,” the agro-exports...

A new report has called for increased efforts to boost industrial development in the region, particularly through design and implementation of well-ground strategies and action plans, in order to achieve industrialisation objectives at both regional and East Africa Community (EAC) partner state level. Exploiting opportunities offered a the dynamic EAC market, and diversifying and upgrading through realistic, well-defined and comprehensive strategies are some of the relevant and concrete policy recommendations listed in a new regional industrial competitiveness report. Others are: strengthening of forward and backward linkages to boost industrial and overall economic growth, and supporting development of key industrial drivers to boost production and exports. The draft of the first regional Industrial Competitiveness report which is set to be officially made public in October by the EAC Secretariat is a joint initiative with the UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), aimed at tracking industrial development performance in the region. Alphonse Kwizera, the assistant executive director of Rwanda Association of Manufacturers (RAM), was a member of the team of experts from partner states that compiled the report. He said it was developed to provide a compass to help the region navigate its way towards the industrialisation goals of the Community. Kwizera said: “It shows the competitiveness of our industries, as an entire region, and also highlights how countries trade; which products are mostly exported… and all this is to help industries to strategise. “It will help us determine what additional strategies can be used to increase competitiveness in the region. It will,...

Kenya’s move to adopt a regional electronic passport is on track after the government announced that electronic passports would be rolled out from September. The new generation passports are aimed at easing travel for East African residents. Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda are also set to roll out the electronic passports. They will feature a microchip containing details of the owner and will allow information contained in it to be verified with information displayed on the passport. One of the major hurdles to the integration of East African Community member states has been failure to ease travel, which hampers movement of goods and people as a result. According to the Immigration Department, the current passports in use will be phased out over two years. The electronic passport has been touted as a great step in curbing fraud and easing clearance at international passports. The new look passport will also curb counterfeit travel documents and tampering. Eradicating trade barriers is the only way that the EAC member states can help foster business in the region. The adoption of the electronic passport by the EAC member states will hasten the free flow of goods from one point to another and attract investment. Among the major hurdles to regional trade are bureaucracy and corruption. While trade in the bloc has increased exponentially after the launch of the Common Market Protocol in 2010, there is still a lot more that needs to be done. For the economies of East African Community member states to grow, there...