The Single Customs Territory is a milestone towards integration of the EAC region. It is a stepping stone towards the attainment of a Customs Union. In a bid to enhance the clearance of goods, minimise controls at internal borders and decongest the ports to boost trade facilitation in the East African Community, the presidents of the EAC partner states agreed to fast-track the implementation of the SCT, which was later launched in October 2013 and implemented by revenue authorities in January 2014. After successful rollout of the SCT processes for all imports into Uganda in December 2017, Uganda Revenue Authority is now set to roll out the SCT procedures for Ugandan Exports that are destined to the world all over. The rollout is effective July 19, 2018, and will commence with a pilot of coffee exported through the Port of Mombasa, and subsequently other exports, including tea, hides and Skins, etc. According to Dicksons Collins Kateshumbwa, the Commissioner Customs URA, the new procedures will be piloted with Uganda’s main exports because the benefits are expected to have instant significant impact on Uganda’s competitiveness and on the economy as a whole. Between July 2017 to December 2017, Uganda’s Top 20 exports contributed 64.58 per cent of the total exports worth, with a value of Shs3,036.036b out of a total of Shs4,701.093b. The top exports included coffee, gold, maize, beans, and tea, with values of Shs888,880b, Shs502.699b, Shs179.604b, S164.646 billion , andShs152.715b respectively. The main destinations of Uganda’s exports in the same...

Kenyan avocado producers have set sights on China and India in search of better prices amid rising competition in the traditional 28-nation European Union (EU) market. Avocado prices in the EU have fallen by more than half this year largely due to increased supply from Peru and South Africa, media reports said earlier this month. A four-kilo bag sold for between Sh471.88 and Sh589.85 (€4 and €5) compared with a range of Sh1,297.67 — Sh1, 533.61) last year. Fresh Produce Consortium of Kenya chief executive Okisegere Ojepat said the low prices had hit farmers hard after heavy rains delayed maturity of their crop leading it to coincide with Peru’s. “We are now exploring new markets in the Far East where we are anticipating the Chinese and the Indian market will open,” he said on phone. “If that happens, the issue of the (price) war in the EU will be a thing of the past.” Past attempts to access the populous Chinese market failed largely on agricultural health concerns, he said, adding that another team of inspectors has been invited to assess Kenya’s compliance with Beijing’s phytosanitary standards. “We are currently finalising, together with our regulators, the protocols to be put in place to allow Kenyan avocados to get to the Far East without having to go through a long channel where some of our crop ends up there through other markets such as the UK,” Mr Ojepat said. “That will sort us from this mess that we are in currently.”...

The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) plans to set up a team to oversee the implementation of the Digital Free Trade Area (DFTA). The DFTA is an online platform for trade facilitation comprising three segments namely electronic trade (e-trade,) e-logistics, and e-legislation. The e-trade aims at promoting electronic commerce by providing a platform for traders in the Comesa bloc to conduct business online. The e-logistics segment uses ICT as a tool to improve transportation of goods to customers, while e-legislation looks at the preparedness of countries to put in place laws that enable them to carry out e-transactions and e-payments. “The DFTA platform will enable duty-free and quota-free trading and provide an online regional market. Hence, it will empower cross border traders to do business using ICT thereby minimising physical barriers,” said the Comesa in a statement. The sub-committee, which will be made up of members of trade, ICT and other relevant ministries in member states will be charged with the responsibility of ensuring that Comesa realises the dream of achieving a digital free trade area. The decision was reached during a council of ministers meeting in Lusaka, Zambia, last week. The ministers also allowed the including of other stakeholders in the committee, including the private sector, to hasten implementation. The council instructed the Comesa secretariat to finalise DFTA gap analysis in member states by the end of this year. The DFTA will require both technological and legal inputs, especially in the fields of intellectual property, competition,...

Kenya must raise production standards and up its marketing to counter similar efforts by its neighbours racing for a pie of the United Kingdom (UK) market, latest trade and investment report states. According to the latest study by Overseas Development Institute (ODI) exports to the UK from the rest of the world have risen by 15 per cent in eight years to 2017. Kenya lost out on all its top three exports to the same destination during that period. “Kenya has lost its competitiveness to other countries and that has to be rectified by upping its standards, improve marketing and branding of its products as well as diversifying,” said Dirk Wellem Te Velde, principal research fellow and head of Economic Development Group. Data from International Trade Centre showed that the value of Kenya’s exports to the UK has been on decline, moving from Sh50.3 billion in 2009 to Sh37.6 billion in 2017. This is tipped to fall further should the country fail to address challenges of infrastructure, diversity and standards to ward off increasing competition. The study showed that Kenya’s share in UK imports fell from 16 per cent in 2011 to seven per cent by 2014 as vegetables and flowers lost competitiveness to neighbouring countries due to improved wages, marketing systems, diversity and standard compliance. Diversification “Lack of diversification has reduced Kenya’s competitiveness and given rise to significant competition from other African countries such as Rwanda, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Ivory Coast, all gradually eating into Kenya’s market share in...

Nairobi-based cargo carrier Astral Aviation has signed a letter of intent to acquire two Lucas-F250 drones, with plans to launch a local cargo drone network next year. The firm said the new fleet will enable it provide logistics services in aid and relief sectors, e-commerce, postal networks, medical deliveries, schoolbooks and the oil, gas and mining sectors. The airline said it plans to purchase an additional 10 drones in 2019 from Dubai-based manufacturer Falcon Drones Technology. The F-250 is an unmanned aerial vehicle with a range extending 1,500 kilometres, endurance of up to 10 hours, a cruise speed of 150 kilometres (km) per hour and maximum speed of 200km/hour. It has a cargo weight of up to 250 kilos, capacity for Euro-pallet dimensions, folding wings, a folding tail, fully autonomous take-off and landing, and Waypoint Navigation and landing. “The Falcon Drones technology is truly ground breaking. At Astral, we are delighted to have secured this order with exclusivity in Kenya,” said Astral Aviation chief executive Sanjeev Gadhia. “It brings with it the exciting prospect of further expansion in the wider East Africa region.” Mr Gadhia, said the firm will expand the drone network in phases, comprising domestic, regional and then intra-Africa deliveries with Nairobi as the central logistics hub. The second phase, targeting the eastern Africa region, will focus on point-to-point and last mile delivery within "strategic drone hubs", serving a population of 250 million people, all subject to regulatory approval. The third and final phase will extend the range...

Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Southern Sudan have already put the regional Act effect which, among other things, seeks to reduce the spate of accidents. Briefing reporters here yesterday, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Works, Transport and Communication Joseph Nyamhanga said the new regional Act embodies many new aspects, unlike the existing one. He was speaking at a forum aimed at imparting knowledge and awareness about the new regulations to heads of key stakeholders in the transport industry from both private and public sectors. "Before the Act comes into effect, we have seen the need to educate you about it and its relevant regulations, hoping that you will also bequeath the knowledge to others in the transport industry," he said. He urged experts with the Tanzania National Roads Agency (TANROADS) to continue disseminating education and knowledge on the fresh vehicle load control regulations to all transporters countrywide. Dwelling on impending changes after the Act and its regulations come into effect, he said offenders will be fined up to $15,000 or three years’ imprisonment in default. "This is why we have set ample time of at least four months in order for all transporters in the country to read between the lines and understand them well since we will not entertain any excuses when the Act and regulations come into force," he cautioned. Elaborating, he said according to the new regulations, limitation of weight in axle of super single tyres has been set at 8.5 tonnes instead of the current 10...

The agreement was reached after a meeting in Mogadishu between President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo of Somalia and Ethiopia’s newly installed prime minister Abiy Ahmed. Officials did not say which ports would be developed. A joint technical team is to be formed immediately to outline proposals. The text of the agreement can be seen here. The development is being view as part of the complicated politics of the region, which is in the shadow of the struggle between the Gulf states on one side and Turkey, Qatar and Iran on the other, as well as Ethiopia’s difficult relations with Eritrea and the position of the breakaway Republic of Somaliland. In recent years Ethiopia has been moving closer to the UAE, and the announcement follows a pledge from the UAE to give it $3bn in aid. Under the terms of that deal, the money will be used as capital investment in construction projects. Ahmed Shide, Ethiopia’s communication affairs minister, said the money would significantly further the country’s development goals. The UAE is thought to be interested in investing in industrial parks, which have become an important part of Ethiopia’s strategy of building up an export-oriented manufacturing sector, as well as healthcare and hospitality projects. One billion dollars will be deposited in Ethiopia’s central bank to ease its foreign currency shortages. These have become so severe that the government has been considering the privatisation of Ethiopia Airlines, Africa’s fastest growing carrier. State-owned Ethio-Telecom, which has more than 65 million subscribers, has also just...

Arusha. A continent-wide online platform to support women entrepreneurs has been launched with the support of the African Development Bank (AfDB). The 50 Million African Women Speak Networking Platform Project (50MWS) will provide financial and non-financial information to women entrepreneurs within the African continent including the East African Community (EAC). “That would enable them to interact and grow their businesses,” said Mary Makoffu, the EAC director of social services. She added although there were already such platforms for women in business across the region, EAC was keen to partner and build on the existing structures “to better deliver on this project.” Besides the EAC, 50MWS is also being implemented in three other regional blocs, the Southern African Development Community (Sadc), the Common Market for Southern and Eastern Africa (Comesa) and the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas). “This is a good opportunity for women in business in respective regional economic communities (RECS) to penetrate markets of other blocs”, she pointed out. To introduce the three-year project, the EAC secretariat recently conducted meetings targeting ministries responsible for Gender, ICT, Trade and EAC Affairs as well as the civil societies. Each member state would, thereafter, be required to form respective country team that will help in collection of information to upload into the platform. The ministries responsible for Gender in each country, which normally disburse funds to support women’s economic activities, will be in charge of 50MWS coordination. “50MWS Project will also contribute to reduce to zero gender that were observed...

Arusha. Market driven integration will top the sixth annual East African Community (EAC) Secretary General’s Forum slated for Nairobi early next week. The forum, which has been held every year since 2012, aims at providing an opportunity to the private sector, civil society and other interest groups to share experiences on regional integration efforts. It is convened by the EAC secretariat in collaboration with the Regional Dialogue Committee, which comprises members from partner states. “This year’s forum will review the work plan and progress reports on the consultative dialogue framework for the private sector, civil society and interest groups,” EAC said in a statement yesterday. The framework was adopted during a recent meeting of the EAC Council of Ministers, which is the policy organ of the six-nation community. About 100 delegates drawn from the private sector and civil society organisations as well as professional bodies, media, trade unions and EAC institutions are expected at the two-day meeting, which will start on July 23. Themed “Strategising for Impact:People-Centred and Market-Driven Integration’ the forum is expected to redefine the way forward in the EAC integration efforts. Through consultation and dialogue, non-state actors and EAC and partner states officials are expected to agree on concrete policy measures on issues pertaining to integration. Holding of the annual forum among key players in the EAC integration process was endorsed by the EAC Council of Ministers in 2012 and since then five EAC SG’s forums have been held in different capitals. Source The Citizen

Kenyan farmers can increase their annual profits by between 7.1 per cent and 76.3 per cent with the use of digital farming technologies that can be helpful in keeping records and monitoring crop and livestock health, according to a 2015 research conducted by UK innovation foundation Nesta. Such technologies, which include mobile applications, enhance farming activities and improve yields. Therefore, government institutions such as the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (Kalro) and industry experts are driving the adoption of these tools in a bid to reduce post-harvest losses through provision of timely and accurate information directly to the farmers’ phones. Eska, a mobile app developed by botanist and biochemist Samuel Kamya, is used to detect crop diseases and deficiency of important nutrients such as phosphorus. It was launched in August 2017, at a time when Sh150 billion worth of produce went to waste in the country due to pest infestation and inadequate market access. “As a botanist, I understand the problems that farmers go through in order to benefit from farming; they have to overcome pest infestation, attack by diseases and a lack of nutrients. These problems can be solved by using software, so we developed an app that is powered by artificial intelligence,” said Kamya. Once installed on an android smartphone, the user taps its icon, which accesses the smartphone’s camera. When pointed to a plant under investigation, it displays the results on the screen. By monitoring crops, the user is able to quarantine and deal with the...