Kenya’s total exports to key markets in Africa shrunk to a five-year low in 2017, new data showed, an indication of growing pain for local producers and the economy. The country’s overall exports to Africa were recorded at Sh223.9 billion last year, marking a successive fall since 2015 and the lowest since 2013, according to the Economic Survey 2018. “The trend in total exports to Africa was consistent with the performance of exports to the Comesa (Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa) region which declined by 2.2 per cent to Sh166.4 billion in 2017,” the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) said. Improved exports are an indication of more agricultural, factory and industrial output which translates to bigger employment numbers. Further, proceeds from exports represent an inflow of funds, which stimulates consumer spending and contributes to economic growth. Kenya’s total exports to Comesa accounted for 74.3 per cent of exports to Africa. Destinations that recorded reduced earnings from Kenya’s exports within the region included; Egypt (7.8 per cent), the Democratic Republic of Congo (5.8 per cent), Ethiopia (13.3 per cent), Zambia (25.2 per cent), Djibouti (40.9 per cent) and the Comoros (50.4 per cent). “The decline in the value of domestic exports of key commodities to Egypt such as tea; tobacco and tobacco products; and paper and paperboard resulted to the decrease in the value of export earnings from this destination in 2017,” the KNBS said. Kenya also registered a decline in the value of exports to Ethiopia, hit...

The maize deal signed between Kenya and Uganda has yielded no import with grain buyers arguing Kampala has no capacity to supply the agreed quantities. This puts the Ministry of Trade on the spot over the deal signed almost two months ago that would have seen Uganda export 6.6 million bags of maize into the country. It was inked between the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) and the Uganda Grain Council and facilitated by the Ministry of Trade on behalf of Kenyan millers. Kenya was supposed to buy the maize at Sh2,050 per bag to plug a deficit that had triggered a rise in flour prices. Millers have confirmed they have not received any consignment from the land-locked neighbouring country. “I am not aware of any maize having been delivered to NCPB,” said Nick Hutchinson, chairman Cereal Millers Association and Unga Holdings chief executive. Eastern Africa Grain Council (EAGC) said its survey indicated that there was no significant grain to import to Kenya under the government deal. “EAGC assessment in February showed there was not much maize in Uganda to be imported to Kenya and that the little that was there had been committed to other parties,” said Gerald Masila, executive director. Mr Masila added a lot of maize had been sold to traders in February under business-to-business arrangement between Kenyan traders and their Ugandan counterparts. The multibillion-shilling deal would have seen local millers pay Uganda Grain Council for delivery of cargo facilitated by the NCPB. EAGC argued that...

May 10, 2018: Bolloré Logistics Industrial Projects team in Kenya was recently tasked to provide customs clearance and Out of Gauge transportation for a massive piece of mining equipment. The equipment, 17-metre-long and 6-metre-wide, was transported from port of Mombasa to Base Titanium Limited’s mining site in Kwale. The distance was approximately 53 kilometres. The Projects Team conducted a survey and formulated a Local Execution Plan for client approval, which proposed a barge operation involving crossing the Mombasa Island through Kilindini Harbour to Likoni, at the southern end of the island from where the cargo would be transported by road. A team of 20 Bolloré Logistics staff were involved in the actual operation. The equipment was discharged directly from the vessel and onto a Heavy-Duty Modular trailer already positioned on the barge. “Due to the weight of the cargo, the barge was staged for 48 hours awaiting high tide to enable the unloading of cargo. A dedicated ferry from the Kenya Ferry Services was used to tow the barge across the harbour to the Likoni side of the ferry. This operation took place from midnight into the early hours of the morning, with the positioning of the barge and offloading at the other side of the harbour, taking five hours due to tidal and ramp positions,” the transport and logistics company mentioned through a statement on its website. After the Ferry Crossing, the cargo was transported by road, with both police escort and an escort from the electricity supplier, Kenya...

Tea traders risk losing millions of shillings in a logistics crisis arising from the shipping lines’ rejection of their consignments in the wake of a persistent slowdown in the loading of vessels at the Mombasa port over the past two weeks. The stalemate, which has so far affected 151 export containers carrying tea valued at $9.4 million (Sh940 million), is the latest in a chain of operational inefficiencies that are affecting business at the port. East African Tea Traders Association (Eatta) said major shipping lines, such as Maersk that tea traders use to move exports destined for Pakistan, have rejected the bookings citing inefficiencies in the loading export cargo. Pakistan is the top buyer of Kenyan tea. Eatta says the delays are the result of heavy congestion at the port that has seen import cargo fill up container stacking areas to capacity leaving no room for the stacking of export containers in readiness for loading on the vessels. “The major shipping lines have curtailed tea export bookings by more than 50 per cent and this is coming at a time when the Mombasa Tea Auction is selling very high volumes of tea,” said Edward Mudibo, the Eatta managing director. The Business Daily could not reach the port’s managing director, Catherine Mturi-Wairi, as she did not respond to phone calls nor reply text messages. Eatta, which manages the auction, warned that failure to ship the tea promptly could lead to a major crisis as the tea buyers will run out of...

On November 30, 2013, the heads of the East African Community (EAC) member states signed the Monetary Union (EAMU) Protocol in Kampala. This is the third pillar of the EAC integration. According to Article 5 of the Treaty establishing the EAC, the integration is anchored on four major pillars: customs union, common market, monetary union, and political federation. The Customs Union Protocol was signed in 2004, and came into effect on July 1, 2005. The Common Market Protocol came into effect on July 1, 2010 having been signed on November 30, 2009. Following the signing of the EAMU protocol, we have been inundated with questions from stakeholders about its implications and when the EAC shall fully realize its provisions. To begin with, a monetary union is a group of two or more states sharing a common currency and with common fiscal and monetary policies. An example of a monetary union is the European Union where several countries use the Euro and monetary policies are conducted by the European Central Bank. A monetary union can have different currencies, but with a fixed mutual exchange rate monitored and controlled by one central bank (or several central banks with closely coordinated monetary policies). In the African context, we have examples of other regional economic communities in advanced stages of implementing monetary unions as part of their broader integration agenda. One example is the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) - comprising Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo...

Kenya is reaching out to Djibouti in a bid to benefit from the Horn of Africa nation's strategic location for security and trade links. On Wednesday, President Uhuru Kenyatta and Djibouti leader Ismail Guelleh signed a number of agreements, mainly centred on boosting trade, but also influenced by security concerns. It is the second attempt by Kenya to woo Djibouti, a country which has traditionally not featured on Kenya's trade links map. President Kenyatta in January held a meeting with Mr Guelleh when the two met during the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa. At the time, they spoke of their readiness to improve trade and security ties. The meeting in Nairobi was influenced by security concerns by both countries. TERRORISTS They both contribute troops to the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) and have been targeted by Al-Shabaab terrorists. It came just two days after new Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed also visited Nairobi on a similar mission. "We have talked about how to strengthen our cooperation and secure our nations. Both our nations are in a very troubled region and we talked about how to ensure the safety and prosperity of our people," said President Kenyatta. President Guelleh said: "We are in a troubled region, where we are confronted by extremism and violence. That is why our militaries are in Somalia to help it regain stability because what happens in Somalia has an immediate impact on all of us." The leaders supported for Somalia's bid for stability in...

At least 350,000 women in East Africa are set to be supported to become import and export traders to take advantage of the region's common market, top official of the implementing agency Trade Mark East Africa said in Nairobi on Wednesday. Frank Matsaert, the CEO of Trade Mark East Africa, said the support has been motivated by the fact that 5,000 women targeted in the phase one of the project and another 25,000 in phase two since 2010 had doubled their income. "This is a commitment we are making today to ensure that women of East Africa fully benefit from the common market," he said during the launch of a report in Nairobi on accessing how women have fared in trade within the regional bloc. "Women play a crucial role in growing trade and therefore economies within East Africa. We therefore need to find ways of supporting women in business. It is about partnerships with various organizations," Matsaert added. Trade Mark East Africa is a non-profit body that works with various partners to grow potential or intra-East Africa and the region's potential to export. Its various activities indicate that it has been active and instrumental in reforming border point entries to ease business environment especially for the small-scale traders selling across borders. The organization said its flagship project has been One Stop Border Post Program, which facilitates joint processing to reduce transit costs incurred in cross border movement by combining the activities of both country's border organizations and agencies at...

Small-scale traders and border communities in Africa must be involved in the formulation of regional common markets in order to help them benefit fully from regional integration, a top UN trade official said in Nairobi on Wednesday. Mukhisa Kituyi, the Secretary General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), gave an example of East Africa common market where during its formation, traders in the negotiations were usually drawn from large businesses. "Border communities for instance are always accused of smuggling. A small-scale trader crossing the border point with goods is likely to be harassed unlike those crossing with huge trucks carrying goods," he said. Kituyi said across Africa's border points, small-scale traders are always discriminated because they are seen as smugglers yet supporting them to do cross-border trader will increase the benefits of regional integration. Kituyi spoke during the launch of new research and analysis on the role of women in cross-border trade, titled "East African Community Regional Integration: Trade and Gender Implications" undertaken by TradeMark Africa, a trade promotion agency. "This new analysis is another UNCTAD contribution to the debate on how we, together, can make trade policy more gender-sensitive, and pave the way for more inclusive prosperity that leaves no one behind," he said. The report looks at gender and trade issues in five East Africa Community countries to assess the impact of regional integration on women's employment and quality of life. Its key message is the importance of putting in place policies to address...

Nairobi — Clearance of goods at the Namanga border is expected to ease with the operationalization of a modern one-stop border post on Tuesday. State House Spokesman Manoah Esipisu said President Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to launch the border post to enhance efficiency at the Kenya-Tanzania border. The opening of the one-stop border post comes amidst an on-and-off trade spat between Kenya and Tanzania that has seen the two neighbours restrict movement of select goods due to tariff and non-tarriff barriers. The latest trade disagreement was a week ago when Tanzanian Authorities blocked confectionary from Kenya on what was believed to be a misinterpretation of a duty exemption rule on sugar products, according to Kenya Revenue Authorities. Speaking during his weekly briefing, Esipisu said the one-stop border post is in line with the government's commitment to the improvement of regional transport infrastructure, which remains a key priority to all East Africa Community states. "It will spearhead the ease of movement of goods and people within the region," Esipisu said on Sunday. The one-stop border post also aims at deepening policy integration and reducing barriers to trade in the region. "Additionally, the Namanga One Stop Border Post will boost trade by improving coordination and collaboration between the different agencies, thus contributing to a reduction in transport cost, whilst increasing volumes of transit cargo through the Northern Corridor," he added. The customs facility comprises offices and space for immigration processes and verification; warehousing and cold rooms for the goods traded across the...

South Africa and Kenya have committed to resolving outstanding bilateral issues between the countries in preparation for the upcoming 6th Session of the Joint Trade Committee (JTC) which will be held in Mombasa, Kenya in September 2018 The two countries are expected to strengthen trade relations in coming days. (Image source: World Bank Photo Collection/Flickr) This commitment was agreed between South Africa’s director-general of trade and industry, Lionel October, and the Kenyan principal secretary for the State Department of Trade in the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives, Dr Chris Kiptoo, during a bilateral meeting that was held on the margins of the two-day Japan-Africa Public-Private Economic Forum on 6 May 2018. Lionel October undertook to host the first ever Kenya-South African Trade Week in South Africa in October 2018 and to also share a list of the top 40 investment projects in South Africa that Kenyan businesses can invest in. “The latter is in reciprocation to the Kenyan State Department of Trade as having already shared with us a list of bankable investment projects in Kenya last year. Trade Invest Africa (TIA) will also facilitate engagements between Kenya and the Invest South Africa (InvestSA) division on identified investment projects in South Africa,” said October. The meeting agreed on the following action plan on trade and investment activities between the countries: · South Africa to lead an outward trade and investment mission to Kenya by the end of May 2018 · South Africa to undertake a project-specific mission to Kenya...