Banks are being urged to leverage the enormous opportunities that abound in the area of trade finance to help promote trade among member countries on the continent. This can be done by providing the financing that allows factories to expand and for businesses to make and receive payments. Analysts believe that for the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) to succeed despite the initial challenges, players in the financial services sector, particularly banks, had a major role to play. The Country Representative, Ghana International Bank (GHIB), Baafuor Ohene Abankwah, holds the view that there are huge opportunities for trade finance on the African continent, hence the need for banks to play a lead role to promote trade. Mr Abankwah, who is also the Head, Client Coverage Africa for the bank, said “here in Ghana, we have several products that are required in West Africa, and banks and financial institutions can do more to facilitate that”. Trade finance training He was sharing his thoughts in an interview with the media at the closing of a four-day trade finance training in Ghana. Organised by GHIB, the training brought together 60 bankers from across six West African countries. They were equipped with how to facilitate trade between the countries they represented and the rest of the world. It also focused on various international trade finance products that banks could use in serving their customers. Contribution  Mr Abankwah explained that his outfit had a role to play in building trade finance...

Trade has never been more important for U.S. agriculture, and 2022 was a very good year in that department. Brian Kuehl, the executive director of Farmers for Free Trade, says the 2022 results were a “double-edged sword” because of higher retail value and lower overall volume. The question is, what’s ahead in 2023? The American agricultural sector posted its best export year ever in 2022. International sales of America’s farm and food products reached $196 billion. Final trade data from the Commerce Department shows that U.S. agricultural exports increased 11%, or $19.5 billion, from the previous record set in 2021. “Inflation has driven up commodity prices, and much of that has been driven by the war in Ukraine,” Kuehl said. “Supply chains coming out of COVID have also made things very challenging.” He said the good news is America is exporting more by value and, in some sectors, more by volume too. Farmers can sell their products for higher prices, but the challenge is input costs have gone up so much in recent years. “Even with the good trade numbers from last year, farmers are still having a hard time making a go of it,” he said. While 2022 was a record value year, USDA predicts 2023 may look different as American food and ag will be operating at a trade deficit through the rest of this year. “It’s not a huge trade deficit,” Kuehl said. “But I think any trade deficit should be troubling,” he said. Until 2019, the...

What you need to know: KRA has put in a request for the parcel to Turkana County which is the custodian of community land in the region The need to establish the new post was informed by a countrywide survey that identified new potential border crossing points Uncontrolled entry and exit of people along the border was contributing to loss of revenue and influx of counterfeits, a problem that the new border point will stem The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) is seeking 50 acres of land from the Turkana County Government to put up a new One-Stop Border Post between the country and Ethiopia in a bid to stem revenue losses and smuggling of counterfeits. Through the Border Control and Operation Coordination Committee (BCOCC), the taxman has put in a request for the parcel to Turkana County which is the custodian of community land in the region. The planned entry and exit point will be at Todonyang in Turkana North Constituency, and is expected to enhance cross-border movement within East Africa Community member states as well as improving the flow of trade. It is also expected to open up Northern Kenya and stem smuggling of goods through the porous border. Border Management Secretariat Director Kennedy Nyaiyo said the need to establish the new post was informed by a countrywide survey that identified new potential border crossing points. "Todonyang was among the five points that were identified and approved by the National Advisory Security Committee for establishment of a customs border station....

The third edition of the AmCham Business Summit – the premier U.S. – East Africa trade and investment forum – will be held on 29-30 March 2023, in Nairobi, Kenya. The Summit will provide a strategic platform for enhancing two-way trade and investment between the United States and the East Africa region. The Summit will be the first high-level event on the continent following the U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit and comes when the United States and Kenya have just concluded a productive first round of talks on the U.S. – Kenya Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership (STIP). The Summit is expected to drive new ideas on re-energizing the region’s economy through two-way trade and investment with the United States. AmCham Kenya CEO Maxwell Okello said that the Summit would explore opportunities to promote sustainable and inclusive growth while increasing U.S. investment in the region even as the region continues to be resilient amidst high inflation due to several disruptions caused by a range of internal and external shocks, including COVID-19. “Our vision is that strategic partnerships between governments and key stakeholders in the private sector will be strengthened at the Summit even as we seek new pathways for a resilient future. We look forward to exploring how we can leverage the dynamism in Africa’s economies to fast-track recovery and growth,” said Mr. Okello. Apparel is Kenya’s leading export to the U.S., the sector now employing nearly 200,000 Kenyans, mostly young women. By November 2022, apparel exports to the U.S. had reached...

No less than 716 out of 796 (88.9%) of NTBs registered in the online reporting system implemented by the three regional economic communities (RECs), COMESA, East African Community and the Southern Africa Development Community have been resolved, leaving only 80 NTBs left unresolved. The main NTBs include restrictive licensing, permitting, and other requirements applied at the border. Barriers behind the border, such as unwarranted technical barriers to trade and sanitary and phytosanitary measures are equally prevalent. For the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region, the challenge has been various NTBs in the form of infrastructure, language, movement of people and goods among others. African Union Commission Deputy Chairperson Dr. Monique Nsanzabaganwa, in a recent report on visa openness, noted that human mobility is key to Africa’s integration efforts, as such, any limitation discourages innovation and stymies the formation of regional value chains. “It is not enough to agree on rules of origin that promote ‘Made in Africa’ products. For the AfCFTA to succeed, non-tariff barriers to trade must be dismantled, too. “Among other things, Africans must be free to move around the continent without being denied the right to board on planes, applying for costly and time-consuming visas, which are not readily available electronically, to study, trade, and develop their businesses,” Nsanzabaganwa said. Also, the African Development Bank Group Acting Vice President in charge of Regional Development, Integration, and Business Delivery, Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade, remarked that the free movement of people creates business and stimulates intra- and interregional trade....

Businesses within East Africa have urged governments in the region to address key challenges cross-border traders face, which they say will impede exports to the new African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The businesses observed that while the AfCFTA relies on working regional economic blocs such as the East African Community (EAC) market for proper implementation, traders still face hurdles within the regional bloc. Drawn from different East African countries under the East African Business Council (EABC), business leaders observed that the region has a huge advantage to reap from the AfCFTA, having three out of the eight countries participating in the guided trade initiative- a pilot programme to test the viability of AfCFTA. “We need that deliberate government commitment, the manufacturers, the traders are committed, but we need that to be complemented and supported by governments in terms of promoting supporting and nurturing industries,” said EABC CEO John Kalisa. The businesses complain about non-tariff barriers, including border controls that frustrate trade, which a World Bank report also indicated are likely to be the biggest barrier to free trade in Africa. The Kenya Private Sector Alliance said there are efforts to review policies that currently hinder Kenyan traders from accessing the new market, due to impediments the country had placed on businesses outside its trading blocs. “We have a lot of national policies and domestic laws which we need to scan and ensure that they are aligned with our commitments at the region,” said Kepsa deputy chief executive Victor Ogalo....

Efforts to promote and grow trade in Africa under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) have received a boost following a pact for trade facilitation and financing. The deal between trade aid firm, TradeMark Africa, Tony Blair Institute and Trade Catalyst Africa seeks to fast track the implementation of the trade initiative launched in 2021, with eight countries participating in the initiative so far. The agreement will also seek to deploy its expertise in trade facilitation projects, policy advice to governments, digitisation of trade processes, industrialisation, trade infrastructure, green logistics and innovative finance to help resolve trade bottlenecks between African nations. Commenting on the partnership, TradeMark Africa CEO, David Beer welcomed the partnership noting the strategy will create the right synergies in driving economic growth. “At TMA, we are proud of the trade facilitation that we have undertaken across the East, Horn and Southern Africa over the last decade. This has made significant contributions to reducing the time and cost of trade, as well as expanding exports,” Beer said. He added that they would further build on the partnership to help realise the aspirations of AfCFTA member states, in creating a truly seamless trading environment in Africa. TBI managing director Rishon Chimboza hailed the pact saying it will help unleash Africa's trade potential that could lift about 30 million people across the continent out of extreme poverty by 2035. According to the World Bank, if AfCFTA were fully rolled out, it would create a single, continent-wide market that unites 54...

What you need to know: The two countries, however, see the opening of the border post as one of the measures to end cattle rustling, or stock theft, an age-old tradition that has been commercialised by international criminal networks in East Africa and the Horn. Kenya and Uganda have initiated talks for the opening of a one-stop border post in Lokiriama in northwest Kenya, that will seek to open up trade and fight livestock raids. Kenya's Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo said the border post would enhance movement and trade between the two nations and investments in the cross-border road network and improved security and surveillance. The two countries revived their September 2019 memorandum of understanding that sought to enhance cross-border trade between the Turkana and Karamoja, by establishing immigration and customs border points at Lokiriama, Nawountos and Nakitong’o. “The two governments should mobilise resources for peace dividend projects and to facilitate peace-building initiatives in the region for sustainable peace and security,” the joint statement concluded. The border region is mainly occupied by the Turkana and Pokot ethnic communities in northwestern Kenya, and the Karamajong, an ethnic group of agro-pastoral herders living in the northeast of Uganda. Years of banditry These communities have over the years engaged in banditry, making the region unsafe.  The two countries, however, see the opening of the border post as one of the measures to end cattle rustling, or stock theft, an age-old tradition that has been commercialised by international criminal networks in East Africa...

The use of cargo clearance technology by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has helped the taxman plug revenue collection gaps at the borders in the wake of increasing pressure by the new administration to seal leakages. Stringent border control measures between Kenya, Tanzania and Somalia have also led to a decline in tax evasion, increasing revenue collection for the authority’s Southern region which covers the coastal counties of Lamu, Kilifi, Kwale, Mombasa, Tana River and Taita Taveta. The KRA Southern Region co-ordinator Joseph Tonui says the agency has surpassed its revenue targets in the last six months by Sh3 billion in terms of tax collection. “For the last six months, we collected Sh267 billion. This is both for customs and domestic taxes. The target was Sh264 billion. We achieved 101 percent with a surplus of Sh3 billion,” he explained. Mr Tonui said the authority will soon use drones in mobile monitoring of goods to curb theft and tax evasion. Already, some staff have been trained to be drone pilots for the task. For instance, he said, the monthly auctions are going to be digitised to increase fairness. "We want to reduce cases of human intervention by digitising the auction and making it online. This is a work in progress," he said. He added that this was due to strategies that the authority has applied, including using a digital system to track, monitor and collect revenue. The rollout of the new customs systems, the Integrated Customs Management Unit (iCMS), at the...

  Trade Mark East Africa in partnership with the County Government of Busia has taken the initiative to educate women on the importance of climate change, environment, social safeguards and trade. The Chief Officer Trade, Industry, Investment and Cooperatives, Mr. Kennedy Mbaja asked women in business to invest in cereal crops that produce edible oil. “As a county, we are about to have our own industrial park and what can we do that is unique from others? Let us form groups and register with cooperatives and plant simsim, groundnuts, avocado, sunflower and soya beans which will help us get oil and its by-products,” he said. He said that Busia County has favorable climate and soil for production of groundnuts, cashew nuts, simsim, soya beans and sunflowers that are rich in production of oil. “We urge farmers to try oil palm, sesame, sunflower, groundnuts and soya beans on a large scale to supplement the sugarcane they have been growing for many years now,” noted Mbaja. Project Manager PROCESS Limited Mr. Patrick Ino said the overall objective of the workshop is to help women in trade to increase income and their capacity to participate in trade and also improve their resilience towards climate change. “Today we want to empower women to overcome the challenges that come with climate change, adaptation and mitigation of environmental issues in line with World Bank environment and social safeguard standards,” he revealed. Women trading in various commodities including fish, fruits, and general hotel foodstuff have been introduced...