Kenyan apparel exports could grow by 5 percent this year to $400 million after the extension of a preferential U.S. trade deal with African nations, according to an industry body. East Africa’s biggest economy exported clothing worth $380 million in 2015, when the U.S. extended its African Growth and Opportunity Act agreement by a decade, according to Phyllis Wakiaga, the Chief Executive Officer of the Kenya Association of Manufacturers. “The 10 year extension of the AGOA agreement has offered African manufacturers more confidence to make long-term investments, especially in apparel,” Wakiaga said in an e-mailed response to questions. Brands such as Puma, Wal-Mart, JC Penny, H&M source some of their garments from Kenyan Export Processing Zones, which employ over 66,000 people, according to KAM. The EPZs, which are required to export 80 percent of their output beyond the regional East African Community bloc, enjoy 10-year tax exemptions. Used Clothes East Africa could potentially export garments worth as much as $3 billion annually by 2025, according to a 2015 McKinsey report. Affordable electricity and cheap labor -- with monthly salaries as low as $60 -- make producers such as Kenya and Ethiopia attractive to investors, the study shows. Kenya’s textile industry declined in the 1980s after market liberalization policies demanded by multilateral lenders exposed the market to secondhand imports. Most new clothing sales are now sourced in China. South African retailers such as Woolworths Holdings, Truworths and Mr. Price Group also have a presence in the nation, targeting the middle class....

Business at the Mombasa Port has slowed down following heavy rains being experienced in the county. The poor weather has interrupted the smooth flow of cargo, especially the bulky ones like fertiliser, dealing a big blow to farmers as the planting season sets in. Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) head of affairs Bernard Osero said the ongoing heavy rains have affected operations at the port mainly the conventional cargo section that handles bulk cargo. Mr Osero said one of the vessels offloaded only 262 metric tonnes of fertiliser in a shift, compared to the 1,000 tonnes that is handles under normal circumstances. He said visibility was also poor due to heavy rains, which also slowed down crane operations because of slippery conditions. “The downpour at the port has heavily affected visibility and operations. Commodities like fertiliser cannot be offloaded. In the last 24 hours, only 220 tonnes of fertiliser have been offloaded compared to 3,300 tonnes in a normal day,” said Osero. He added, “A slow off-take of the bagged fertiliser was also visible as a result of the low number of trucks that turned up for business. At the main container terminal, operations were going on but equally on a slower pace,” said Mr Osero. Marine services were also affected as pilotage and mooring operations were slowed by poor visibility at sea due to the heavy rains. Source: Hivi Sasa

The oil pipeline route puzzle has been solved, with Uganda choosing to export her crude oil to the East African coast through Tanzania and not Kenya. According to Uganda newspaper The Observer, the information is contained in a draft report dated April 11, 2016. The report will be presented to the presidents of Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya when they meet tomorrow in Kampala. This development all, but ends Kenya’s fight to have the oil pipeline go through the Turkana area to Lamu port. “The comprehensive analysis of the different options (routes), studies and due diligence results has been completed,” said the technocrats in report. “The Kabaale-Tanga route is the only option to secure first oil export by mid 2020, with pipeline availability of 99 per cent.” The report says that on the Kabaale-Lamu route, the first oil export could only happen in mid-2022, with the pipeline availability at 80 per cent. The report was compiled by a team of technocrats in Uganda, led by Ernest Rubondo, the commissioner for petroleum exploration and production. The Observer understands that Kenyan and Tanzanian officials presented their positions touting the advantages of their respective routes. Last October, Uganda and Tanzania signed an agreement to explore the possibility of building a crude oil pipeline between the two countries, setting the stage for fierce competition from Kenya, which thought it already agreed a deal with Kampala. The competing options are the Kabaale-Lokichar-Lamu port (Kenyan) route, and the Kabaale-Tanga port (Tanzanian) route. Kenya is pushing for the...

About the Inquiry The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Trade Out of Poverty (APPG TOP) is undertaking an inquiry into the UK’s Africa Free Trade Initiative (AFTi), which was launched by the Prime Minister five years ago. The inquiry will look at progress, potential and future development of the Africa Free Trade Initiative. This Inquiry seeks to answer the following three main questions: What has been achieved in AFTi since 2011 and what lessons can be learned? Is there a case for a successor to AFTi in the area of further facilitating trade and investment within Africa as a driver of growth and poverty reduction, and between African and the rest of the world, including the UK? What should a future AFTi look like, what targets should it seek to achieve, and through which means and partnerships should it be delivered? The Inquiry is led by a committee co-chaired by Lord Stephen Green, former Minister of State for Trade and Investment and Group Chairman of HSBC, and Mr. Ali Mufurki, Board Chair of TradeMark Africa and founder and Chairman of Infotech Investment Group. Other Committee members include Prof. Myles Wickstead, former Head of Secretariat, Commission for Africa and Ambassador Darlington Mwape, Senior Fellow at International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) and former Permanent Representative of Zambia to the WTO. The Secretariat for the APPG-TOP, Saana Institute, will support the Inquiry committee in gathering evidence, organising hearings and preparing its Report. About the Africa Free Trade initiative (AFTi) The UK...

HANGZHOU – Trade between African countries and the eastern Chinese city of Yiwu increased 20−fold, while the city’s imports from the continent rose 30−fold in the past half−decade. Local companies from the city have also invested US$39 million in seven African countries by the end of 2015, about 16% of the city’s overseas investment, according to Yiwu deputy mayor Xiong Tao during the fifth China−Africa Think Tanks Forum, which was held over the weekend. Last year, imports and exports between African countries and Yiwu reached 49,8 billion yuan (US$7,7 billion ), up 49% year−on−year, accounting for 2,7% of China’s total trade volume with Africa. “Africa is Yiwu’s second−largest continent−level trade partner after Asia, accounting for 23% of foreign trade,” Xiong said. Yiwu is the world’s largest wholesale market for small consumer goods. More than 3 000 African merchants are stationed in Yiwu, and nearly 300 Africans study here. The city reports 80 000 buyers from Africa every year. Besides, over 5 000 kinds of products from 29 African countries and regions are available at the Yiwu International Trade City. Source: The Namibian

The Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) has unveiled a trade portal that will facilitate electronic issuance of ordinary Certificates of Origin (CoO). A CoO is an international trade document attesting that goods in a particular export shipment are wholly obtained, produced, manufactured or processed in a particular country. Issuance of the CoO is only done by the KNCCI through a manual process that usually took a minimum of three days. The web based portal, designed in partnership with Trade Mark East Africa (TMA), will also allow application for membership of KNCCI. Speaking at the launch Friday, KNCCI chief executive Matanda Wabuyele said the portal will allow users to cut on costs and time spent in acquiring the CoO. “A customer can apply for a certificate of origin from the comfort of their home/location. In addition it cuts on paper, ink and archiving resources,” he said. Mr Wabuyele noted that automation of the process came in handy in fighting corruption as it eliminated unwanted privileges and preferential treatment. In the case of foreign trade, the portal is expected to benefit foreign traders by lowering transaction costs arising from periods of inactivity in the manual processing of formalities for export operations. It will also allow users to make payments using various means including real time gross settlement (RTGS), bankers cheque, online banking and electronic funds transfer (EFT). To facilitate the payments, it has been integrated with local platforms such as M-Pesa and Equitel. Source: Business Daily

By joining the bloc, the Horn of African country opened a new chapter of hope and opportunities in social and economic spheres. South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and his Tanzanian counterpart John Magufuli signed a Treaty of Accession into the regional bloc. Speaking shortly after the signing ceremony in the east African nation’s commercial capital Dar es Salaam, President Magufuli paid tribute to South Sudan, saying the event was historic as it was done in Tanzania, the current chair of the EAC. "A new chapter of diplomatic relations has been opened," said the head of state, adding that South Sudan has been in close relations with EAC members in areas of culture, trade and economic ties. He said the joining of South Sudan in the EAC has expanded the regional market of 160 million people. President Magufuli said in order for the EAC to have sustainable development it should nurture peace and urged the new comer to continue with talks aimed at ending strife in the country. "The main reasons behind integration is to promote trade, investments and infrastructure in order to bring about sustainable development and nurture peace among members of bloc," said the president. Tanzania President John Magufuli and South Sudanese President Salva Kiir | Coastweek President Kiir thanked the EAC leaders for accommodating him in the regional bloc. He said his country will work hard to see to it that the EAC became a vibrant bloc, adding: "To start with we will form a ministry that will...

South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and his Tanzanian counterpart John Magufuli were scheduled to sign the treaty on 15 April, the latter having been mandated by the recent regional heads of state summit to sign on behalf of the EAC. Throughout the protracted negotiations that led to the admission of Sudan Sudan into the Community followed by the formal accession, there was no unanimity of opinion regarding the new member. There were essentially two diametrically opposed schools of thought. The first group – and this is perhaps the larger group – felt that South Sudan was not ready to join the regional bloc and should not be allowed to do so. Matters were not helped by the outbreak of civil war in December 2013 and the numerous lost opportunities at crafting a lasting peace in the country. Many people felt that with the current instability in that country, allowing it to join the Community would be of no benefit. There is little trade that can take place in war-time, and indeed many traders from the region fled South Sudan when civil war broke out. Efforts to rebuild infrastructure stalled, and firms that had rushed to take advantage of opportunities in the world’s youngest state hurriedly closed down. Why, then, did some people feel that the country’s application to join the EAC should be approved despite the fighting and instability? There are those who felt that the region could have a stabilizing influence on South Sudan, bringing it on board and...

At what stage of EAC integration are we? Partner states are looking for experts to draft the constitution that will guide on what kind of a federation the region will take. We expect at least three people from all the partner states to be in charge of drafting the constitution. The deadline for having a Political Federation had been set for 2016, so what are the new timelines? We cannot have timelines without a constitution. The regional constitution will be the guide towards the federation. It will clearly define what should be achieved at what time, when the region should have the federation, when it will be launched and over what period it will be implemented. For now there are no timelines until the constitution is in place. In November we expect the Heads of State to approve the list of experts who will be in charge of writing the EAC constitution thereafter the process of a political federation will commence. READ: EAC leaders meet to decide on constitution of political federation There is the issue of disparate constitutions, with some members having done away with the presidential term limits. How will this be handled? The constitutional team will determine that. They will guide the partner states but the final decision lies in the hands of the EAC Heads. What the experts will propose will be adopted or sent back for amendments by the presidents. So far, what have the partner states agreed on? In the last few consultative meetings,...

South Sudan on Friday last week, became the sixth member of the East African Community as the world’s youngest nation embarked on implementing comprehensive reforms in order to catch up with the other member states. President Salva Kiir said conflict resolution and upholding peace in his country was his biggest commitment after inking an ascension Treaty in Dar es Salaam with President John Magufuli, who is the Community’s chair. President Kiir named some of the reforms that his country would be making in the near future as the establishment of national revenue collection authority, forming a special ministry in his government charged with EAC affairs, review and passing number of laws and policies in order to harmonise them with other community member states. He also said his country also needs capacity building and institutional support, and he was hoping that the community will extend its helping hand. “We are equally aware of the major progress that the EAC has made in the recent times. The community is today respected as the most integrated bloc on the continent and one among the best globally. We accept this challenge of competitive open market through hard work and commitment. Tied with necessary reforms, South Sudan will raise to the occasion,” he said. On the execution of peace deal in his country President Kiir said: “We believe with peace and stability in our country progress will be made and our objectives will be achieved.” In August last year, President Kiir and his arch-rival who...