Kenya Trade Network Agency (KenTrade) has embarked on a sensitisation programme targeting insurance companies to integrate them into the upgraded Trade Facilitation Platform (TFP) KenTrade’s newly upgraded platform is aimed at enhancing maritime trade efficiency It will also ensure faster processing of documents and claims, thus leading to a reduction in the cost of doing business and a subsequent improvement in service delivery standards Kenya Trade Network Agency (KenTrade) has embarked on a sensitisation programme targeting insurance companies to integrate them into the upgraded Trade Facilitation Platform (TFP) to enhance maritime trade efficiency. KenTrade ICT Director Anne Waweru said the integration of insurance companies’ systems with TFP will ensure a seamless submission of the marine cargo certificate to regulatory agencies. It will also ensure faster processing of documents and claims, thus leading to a reduction in the cost of doing business and a subsequent improvement in service delivery standards. “This forum hopes to sensitise the maritime and insurance industry players on our role in facilitating trade in the country while emphasising the Trade Facilitation Platform, which incorporates insurance services through the Maritime Single Window System,” Waweru said. The Trade Facilitation Platform is a superior platform that provides a better user experience, as it is based on modern technologies and incorporates the best international practices and standards. Since the TradeNet System was upgraded, six insurance companies have been fully integrated with the Trade Facilitation Platform. The Insurance Act 2020 contains a directive by the government that requires shippers to procure Marine...

What you need to know: The regional laboratories are part of the larger plan to standardise quality as a way of attaining sustainable industrialisation Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has commissioned a second Food Safety Laboratory in Mbale City in a plan that seeks to decentralise quality infrastructure and other standardisation services. The UNBS eastern region laboratory will majorly serve the sub regions of Karamoja, Sebei, Bukedi, Teso, Bugisu and Busoga. The first laboratory, which seeks to serve much of northern Uganda, was launched in Gulu City in July while another is expected to be launched in Mbarara City to serve western Uganda. Speaking at the launch in Mbale City yesterday, Mr Francis Mwebesa, the Minister of Trade, said standardising quality was critical in supporting government’s agenda to attain sustainable industrialisation that will support policies such as Buy Uganda Build Uganda, Imports Substitution and Export Promotion Strategies. Therefore, he said, the decentralisation of testing laboratories will also enhance accessibility to UNBS services as well as reduce the cost of doing business as well as improve the level of compliance to quality standards. The regional laboratories, in addition to providing conformity assessment and quality assurance of products, seek to reduce turnaround time for micro, small and medium enterprises, many of which have had to spend quality time to ensure that their goods are tested in UNBS labs in Kampala. Mr David Livingstone Ebiru, the UNBS executive director, said this is part of UNBS’ strategic plan to decentralise standardisation services as a...

The Board of the East African Business Council during its 84th meeting outlined priorities set to boost intra-EAC trade and investments in the region. During the 84th EABC Board Meeting, the Chairperson of EABC . Angelina Ngalula lauded the EABC Secretariat for championing the adoption of 35% as the 4th band of East African Community (EAC) Common External Tariff by EAC Partner States which will promote industrialization. Ngalula stated that the Board is steadfast in steering high-level policy advocacy through dialogue with the EAC Heads of State to unlock Nontariff Barriers, restrictions to free movement of services, double taxation, open skies, telecommunications and infrastructure development in order to boost intra-EAC trade and economic resilience amid the global crisis. Half of the countries in the Eastern Africa sub-region are net food importers thus extremely vulnerable to higher global food and energy prices, rising inflation and food insecurity in the EAC bloc. According to FAO (2022), Global Food Price index of cereals, meat, and dairy rose by 26%. The Board urged the EAC Council of Ministers to fast track finalization of the Regional Local Content Policy and Ratification of Article 24(2) of the Protocol on the Establishment of the Customs Union to operationalize the Trade Remedies Committee to handle disputes on trade-related matters as outline in the resolutions of the High Level Summit on Common Market Protocol. The EABC Board Commended the EAC Secretary General for leading the EAC trade mission to Democratic Republic of the Congo and directed the EABC Secretariat...

Regional trade facilitation organisation TradeMark Africa has signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Centre for Agricultural and Bioscience International (CABI) to cement collaboration and working together for the organisations to promote and enhance market access for regional produce. The two organisations have collaborated since 2017 to implement various Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary Measures (SPS) projects across East Africa in, among other areas, conducting studies on SPS Gaps in the region and tools to remedy the situation. At a time when SPS issues are significant non-tariff barriers blocking regional produce from lucrative continental and global markets, TMA and CABI will now jointly support strengthening of national SPS systems, engagement with Regional Economic Communities and support AfCFTA implementation specifically the Protocol on Trade in Goods and Annex 7 on Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures. Speaking during the MOU signing TMA CEO Frank Matsaert highlighted the immense potential the region’s agricultural sector holds, if risks in food safety, plant health and animal health are addressed “We look forward to working together in improving the safety of agricultural goods coming from this continent to the rest of the world to enhance market access. We will also bring our expertise of tapping into ICT to modernize how Standards and SPS licensing and regulation is undertaken for efficiency” On his part CABI Director for General Development Dr Dennis Rangi noted that the two organisations will create great synergies in SPS work which is a key catalyst to trade. “The coming into effect of the Africa...

Laden with roses and carnations, the plane will land at Stansted in the next three weeks. Grown for months in vast, humming greenhouses in the dull heat of Kenya’s Rift Valley, the flowers were unearthed, dusted off, wrapped and dispatched for export to the UK earlier this month. While the process might seem plus ça change for the growers, for British and Kenyan customs officials, these bouquets are the future of trade – one of the first examples of a consignment of goods exported to the UK almost entirely using electronic documentation. The exercise forms part of a much larger trial testing the viability of an entirely digital model for trading practices. Organised by the Institute of Exports & International Trade (IOE&IT) in collaboration with TradeMark Africa, the Trade Logistics Information Pipeline (TLIP) initiative is one of a series of government-sponsored pilots that aim to demonstrate the feasibility of capturing all necessary data about a container for the importing nation’s customs officials before it even leaves its country of origin. If successful, this ‘Ecosystem of Trust’ could provide a blueprint for avoiding the endless form-filling that accompanies international trade – a headache that has grown increasingly painful for UK exporters since Brexit. Nowhere is this more in evidence than in the export of foodstuffs from the UK to the EU, where Brexit has created new pressures on companies of all sizes to accede to strict regulations from Brussels on documentation. Marco Forgione recalls a recent case of a large supermarket chain seeming to move a shipping...

Kenya's export value increased by 17 per cent in 2021 to hit KSh 666.7 billion (US$ 5.5 billion) compared to KSh 567.4 billion (US$ 4.7 billion) in 2020 Data from the Kenya Trade Network Agency (KenTrade) Business Intelligence Tool shows that the increase was influenced by earnings from top agricultural products (tea and horticultural products) The export volumes increased from 643.7 billion tonnes to 743.7 billion tonnes in 2021 with improved exports in clothing accessories and agricultural products Kenya's export value increased by 17 per cent in 2021 to hit KSh 666.7 billion (US$ 5.5 billion) compared to KSh 567.4 billion (US$ 4.7 billion) in 2020.This is according to the latest data from the Kenya Trade Network Agency (KenTrade) Business Intelligence Tool that shows that the increase was influenced by earnings from top agricultural products (tea and horticultural products). As per the report, tea and horticulture registered about KSh 296 billion (US 2.4 billion), a 44.4 per cent of the total domestic exports.The export volumes increased from 643.7 billion tonnes to 743.7 billion tonnes in 2021 with improved exports in clothing accessories and agricultural products. "Through the trade facilitation platform, Kenya Exported approximately 1.2 million tonnes of agricultural products especially tea and horticulture that still stand as our main export," the report states. Uganda remains Kenya's largest market, exporting goods worth KSh. 91.6 billion (US$756 million), followed by Netherlands at KSh 61.6 billion (US$510 million) and USA at KSh 59.5 billion (US$ 493 million). The African Market, Europe and Asia...

The Secretary General of the East African Community (EAC) Dr Peter Mathuki on Friday met the incoming CEO of TradeMark Africa (TMA) David Beer at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. Accompanying Beer during the courtesy call on the Secretary-General was the ongoing TMA CEO Frank Matsaert. In his remarks, Dr Mathuki observed that TMA had done a commendable job in supporting the integration process in East Africa, particularly in infrastructure development, improving customs efficiency and capacity building in diverse sectors. Dr Mathuki said that TMA had mobilised significant resources over the years to support various EAC programmes and projects. He singled out TMA’s support in the construction of One-Stop Border Posts (OSBPs) noting that OSBPs had eased cross-border trade and free movement of persons by reducing the amount of time spent by merchants and travellers at the borders. The Secretary-General informed Beer of potential areas that may require support in future including fast-tracking the integration of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the newest Partner State, into the Community. Dr Mathuki further informed the TMA CEO of the urgent need to build the capacity of DRC officials to ensure that they participate fully and effectively in EAC programmes and activities. Also high on the EAC agenda is support in terms of translation and interpretation services for EAC meetings and documentation given that French and Kiswahili are also now official languages of the Community in addition to English. On his part, Beer said that his focus would be to build on and deepen the...

Aid-for-trade organisation TradeMark Africa (TMA) is in talks with development finance institutions (DFIs) to help east Africa realise its free-trade potential, new CEO David Beer tells The Africa Report. The group is in “advanced” discussions with DFIs to raise finance for projects such as one-stop border posts, trade logistics parks and trade finance, Beer says. The aim, he says, is to attract finance that will improve trade infrastructure to the point where users will be prepared to pay for it. Beer, based in Nairobi, took over from founding CEO Frank Matsaert on 1 September. He’s now developing a new 10-year strategy for TMA which will include a focus on digitisation. TMA has been a “victim of its own success” and now needs a “strategy 2.0”, he says. Read original article

ADOPTION of the 35 percent as the 4th band of East African Community (EAC) Common External Tariff (CET) by partner states will promote industrialization and boost intra- regional trade and investments. Chairperson of the East African Business Council (EABC) Angelina Ngalula Chairperson of the East African Business Council (EABC) Angelina Ngalula made the statement over the weekend when addressing the 8th meeting of the EABC board in Dar es Salaam. Ngalula outlined priorities set to boost intra-EAC trade and investments as she lauded the council’s secretariat for championing the adoption of 35 percent as the EAC CET 4th band. She said the board is steadfast in steering high-level policy advocacy through dialogue with the EAC Heads of State to unlock non-tariff barriers (NTBs), restrictions to free movement of services, double taxation, open skies, telecommunications and infrastructure development to boost intra-regional trade and economic resilience amid the global crisis. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) — global food price index of cereals, meat, and dairy rose by 26 percent whereas half of the countries in the Eastern Africa sub-region are net food importers. The situation makes the countries extremely vulnerable to higher global food and energy prices, rising inflation and food insecurity in the EAC bloc. The board urged the EAC Council of Ministers to fast track finalization of the regional local content policy and ratification of Article 24(2) of the Protocol on the Establishment of the Customs Union to operationalise the trade remedies committee...

The EABC-EASSI-TMA launched an EABC-TMA capacity building workshop to improve knowledge of over 50 women cross-border traders and youth on EAC simplified trade regime and exchange their experiences early this week  in Kigali-Rwanda John Bosco Kalisa, CEO of EABC explained that during the EABC’s public-private dialogues with trade facilitation agencies at single border crossings, cross-border women traders requested the establishment of storage and childcare facilities, cross-border markets and Scarp Off Issuance Fees for the EAC Simplified Certificate of Origin to facilitate their daily work. He urged that the maximum cargo value threshold under the EAC simplified trade regime, which is USD 2,000, be raised to USD 5,000 so that more trade can take place. “This EABC-TMA capacity building workshop will provide an update on the EAC Simplified Trade Regime and allow youth and women in cross-border trade to share their experiences on the usefulness of the trade regime. ” said John Bosco Kalisa, CEO of EABC.   For his part, Mr. Dennis Karera, Vice President of the East African Business Council (EABC), said that EABC is committed to advocating for an effective East African Community (EAC) simplified trade regime for trade that reflects the realities on the ground. He cited the fact that more than 40,000 cross-border traders, mostly women, use the small barrier between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. He further urged the youth ambassadors and women cross-border traders to familiarize themselves with customs procedures and to pass on their knowledge to their counterparts in their associations...