The EAC Industrial Competitiveness Report 2017states that these growth rates, as measured by the Manufacturing Value Added (MVA) and manufacturing trade growth rates, fall short of some of the targets set in the EAC industrialisation policy. They are also below similar regional economic communities in sub-Saharan Africa, including Ecowas. Discounting by population size, the report shows that the EAC is still registering a low level of industrial production. And, based on the current growth rate, the region would only attain an MVA per capita level of about $87 in 2032, which is well below the goal of $258 set in the EAC Industrialisation Policy, and would not allow it to reach SADC’s production capacity of 2015. The report comes as the EAC Industrialisation Action Plan (2012-2017) comes to an end. It shows that MVA growth has slowed down in recent years, from 5.3 per cent between 2005 and 2010, to 4.6 per cent between 2010 and 2015, thus falling short of the 10-15 per cent annual growth rate projected in the EAC Industrialisation Policy and Strategy and below the sub-Saharan Africa average. Missed opportunities Analysis of the cotton and leather sub-sectors shows missed opportunities at the level of high value-added products in the value chain, such as for cotton apparel and leather footwear. Meanwhile, the analysis of industrial drivers has pointed to a number of key constraints to industrial competitiveness. Nonetheless, although EAC’s exports of the top regionally demanded products generally grew since 2010, it did not happen at the pace...

About five customs entries, customs agents’ fees in two countries, two goods- in-transit guarantee bonds and duplicated customs procedures in Kenya and in Uganda. That was the inconvenience that characterised cargo clearance before the implementation of the Single Customs Territory (SCT) in 2013. Steel and Tube Industries’ Aggrey Ijara recollected that back in 2013 he was required to declare each container on  five to seven  customs entries for Mombasa Port,  and two entries for transit and on arrival at Malaba, Eastern Uganda respectively “The many entries were costly and a lot of time was consumed,” Ijara stated. Importers paid US$200m fees for clearing agents in Mombasa, a Sh150, 000 (over US$40) bond fee at Malaba and another Sh500, 000 (US$138) for agents in Kampala. This was in addition to two goods –in- transit bonds to deter dumping of cargo in Kenya or Uganda. The delays and costs were an indictment on revenue authorities, which were failing on the trade facilitation role. To address these challenges and others that impeded regional trade, the Presidents of the East African Community (EAC) agreed to fast track the implementation of SCT to enable importers declare their goods once on arrival at the first port of entries into the region. It is a stage towards full attainment of the Customs Union achievable by the removal of restrictive regulations and/or minimization of internal border controls on goods moving between the partner states. In June 2013, amid a Northern Corridor Presidents’ Summit, Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya heads of...

The East African Community Heads of State will meet in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on November 30 for the 14th Ordinary Summit where they are expected to discuss different regional projects. Before the summit, the EAC Heads of State will travel to Tanzania to officially open the new EAC Headquarters in Arusha, commission the Arusha-Namanga-Athi River road both events will take place on  November 28. The EAC Secretariat, the East African Legislative Assembly and the East African Court of Justice have been using rented facilities since the Community was revived in 1999. The three organs of the bloc were housed in the Arusha International Conference Centre. The new building was financed by the German Government and it will be hosting all the three EAC Organs based in Arusha. The Presidents, while in Nairobi, are expected to discuss financing of infrastructure projects, where different regional priority infrastructural projects in energy, and transport sectors will be outlined, according to a statement from the EAC Secretariat. Bill Kayonga, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of East African Community, told The New Times that during the summit, the regional leaders will receive reports by the EAC Council of Ministers highlighting the implementation status of the regional activities over the last one year. “They will receive a report of  the verification team on the application of the Republic of South Sudan ; the EAC secretariat will also present a model of the structure of political federation and action plan on the way forward,” he said....

Regional manufacturers have been urged to embrace electronic trading platforms (e-commerce) to widen their market reach and become more productive and competitive. The experts said embracing such innovations will help reduce the cost of production and enhance the sector profitability. According to Dr Mukhisa Kituyi, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Secretary-General, e-commerce is an instrumental and innovative tool for promoting industrialisation and trade across the region. Kituyi was speaking during the ongoing EAC Manufacturing Business Summit and Exhibition in Kigali on Tuesday. The three-day summit brought together more than 500 participants,  including business leaders,  experts and policy-makers, to discuss mechanisms to bolster regional industrialisation. Kituyi said manufacturers should take advantage of the immense opportunities presented by e-commerce platforms to enter new markets, create awareness about their products and drive sales to improve profits. The UNCTAD official observed that the economy today is being driven by digitisation, which makes it imperative for regional manufacturers to embrace e-commerce and tap into the untapped markets. This way the sector will be able to create more jobs and foster inclusive economic growth, he added. Matthias Wachter, the in charge of the Federation of German Industries department of security and raw materials, encouraged industrial players to employ technology and e-commerce in all their processes to increase production and tap new customers. “This way, they will be able to easily penetrate markets and sell products at competitive prices,” he added. Reducing cost of production Meanwhile, the business community has called on regional governments...

The East African Community regional integration process has seen the region register improvement in logistics performance which had stagnated in previous years, a World Bank report has said. The bi-annual report, ‘Connecting to Compete 2016: Trade Logistics in the Global Economy’, ranked 160 countries on their trade logistics performance as well as the region, identifying the challenges and opportunities. The report noted that the move by the East African Community nations to integrate into one bloc had elevated the region’s logistics performance, consequently making it more attractive for investments and reducing the cost of doing business. Among the most notable changes observed by the survey was the elimination of multiple barriers to trade and transport, such as cumbersome procedures. “The Northern Corridor was once known for multiple barriers to trade and transport, including lengthy dwell times at Mombasa port and cumbersome clearance procedures along the corridor. In 2012–13, the corridor countries started a series of reforms that significantly improved the logistics environment and drove down logistics costs,” the report’s authors observed. Integration, the report says, saw the establishment of a single customs territory, thereby tackling unbearable clearance procedures. “One of the reforms was to introduce Single Customs Territory clearance procedures within the East African Community, including Burundi and Tanzania. This means final customs clearances for free circulation can be made already at the port of entry in Mombasa. The system has significantly reduced administrative burden and shortened the time required for customs formalities,” the authors said. With the single customs...

Kampala — Cabinet has approved the ratification of the EAC-COMESA-SADC Tripartite Free Area Agreement (FTA), paving way for the implementation of the Agreement. In a Cabinet meeting that took place on Friday 4th August 2017, members unanimously agreed that Uganda was ready to start the implementation of the Tripartite FTA which will open up a wider market for Uganda's products and services in 26 African countries. The products for export will include agricultural products, sugar, tea, coffee and livestock products. The Tripartite FTA represents an integrated market of 26 countries with a combined population of 632 million people which is 57% of Africa's population; and with a total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of USD$ 1.3 Trillion, contributing 58% of Africa's GDP.  This is a large area that provides expanded trade opportunities to Uganda's Private Sector. Appearing before Cabinet, Trade Minister Amelia Kyambadde said during the recent Tripartite FTA meeting that took place in Kampala in July 2017, the three regional blocs (EAC-COMESA-SADC) finalized and the adopted the remaining annexes on the Rules of Origin, Trade Remedies and Dispute Settlement, thus producing a full Tripartite Agreement. During the same meeting, South Africa signed the Tripartite Agreement, bringing the total number of countries that have signed to 19 out of 26. "Now that the Republic of South Africa has signed the agreement and is in the process of ratifying it, we see no reason not to ratify" said Kyambadde. Kyambadde says Uganda stands to benefit greatly from the Tripartite FTA given the...

US President Donald Trump barely mentioned Africa or trade with the continent during his whirlwind campaign and has been mostly silent about the region since taking office. But the annual African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) forum being held in the Togolese capital Lome this week will bring together top US officials and African ministers. The gathering will finally shine a light on Trump's policies toward the region of 1.2 billion people. What is the African Growth and Opportunity Act? It was a trade deal inked between the United States and eligible African countries nations under Bill Clinton's presidency and enacted in 2000. It gives 39 African nations duty-free access to the US market for about 6,500 products including textiles, cars, fruit and wine. Those countries permitted to participate in AGOA are obliged to prove that they are making efforts to improve human rights, the rule of law and worker protections. Is Trump getting involved in Africa? Early signs were not good for the 45th president's interest in trade with the continent. He spoke regularly on the campaign trail about the need to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement and to get a better deal with China -- but Africa did not feature in his top priorities. But he has now sent his top trade negotiator Robert Lighthizer to Lome for the two-day meeting that concludes on Thursday along with a top level negotiating team. Trump himself will not attend the talks. A good deal for Africans? When asked...

A senior US trade official on Thursday urged three East African Community countries to “revisit” their collective ban on used-clothing imports. Arguments in support of the ban put forward by Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda “are not supported by data or research,” said Ms Constance Hamilton, acting assistant US trade representative for Africa. Ms Hamilton’s comments seemed to suggest that the Trump administration is siding with a US business association that claims the three countries are in violation of eligibility criteria for the preferential trade programme known as Agoa. The African Growth and Opportunities Act stipulates that participating countries must eliminate “barriers to US trade” or be making progress in that direction. The US-based Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association (Smart) says the three-year phase out of used-clothing imports, commonly known as mitumba, amounts to such a barrier. Smart petitioned US trade officials in March to exclude Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda from the Agoa provision. The three-year phase-out of mitumba jeopardises 40,000 jobs in the US recycled-clothing industry, according to Smart. Ms Hamilton cited that figure during a press teleconference on Thursday, and added that many of the threatened jobs are with small firms that have only “three or four employees.” Kenya had initially agreed to implement the EAC ban on mitumba, but rescinded the decision. Source: Daily Nation

Addis ababa – Ethiopia is looking to promote its horticulture products in China and different other markets to increase export volumes and revenue, the Horticulture Producers and Exporters Association (EHPEA) has said. The association said various endeavours are already going on to help achieve this goal. Tewodros Zewdie, the EHPEA executive director, told Xinhua on Wednesday that the country’s export performance of the flower sector in the last few years has shown remarkable progress, but the fruits and vegetables sector is not growing that much compared to its potential. Tewodros added that the association is working with the public and private stakeholders to address the challenges related to logistics issues, among others. “We are aggressively promoting our products in Europe, and the feedback from the buyers is quite good. Some promotion activities are also going on in China. We can also benefit from the market opportunity in the Middle East,” he said. Ethiopia earned about $300 million from export of fruits and vegetables in the last year fiscal year. Source: New Times

The secretary general of Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) has recently sent a letter to the Burundian Minister of Trade and Industry stating that Burundi will not host the 20thsummit of COMESA. However, the concerned minister says the reasons provided in the letter are unfounded and adds that they are going on with preparations to host the summit. In his letter addressed to the ministry of trade and industry, written on 20 July and made public on 29 July, 2017, Sindiso Ngwenya, the secretary general of COMESA made a list of reasons why Burundi cannot host the 20th COMESA summit. The Minister of Trade and Industry says they have been preparing the summit since March in collaboration with COMESA. “COMESA secretariat has taken the first preparatory steps since March. On 2nd June 2017, the committee held a meeting to assess the venue and agreed that Burundi could host the summit. On 7th July, the secretary general himself moved from Lilongwe to Bujumbura to assess the preparations. It would be unfair to move the summit to another country with all the money we invested in its preparations.” The minister of trade and industry, Pélate Niyonkuru, says the reasons given are unfounded. “Our president did not attend the last year’s summit but sent his vice-president as his delegate. And among 19 presidents who were supposed to attend it, only two showed up. He was not the only one to be absent. And about vehicles, we have around 40 presidential...