The Ministry of Trade yesterday launched a one-stop trade portal that provides market place information for both local and international trade. The portal is expected to expand market for local traders and service providers while bringing convenience for buyers who will now access market information like commodity prices at a click of a button. It is also expected to cut out middlemen from the trade chain. Information in the portal is provided my multi-sectional stakeholders including KNBS, Council of Governors, Kebs, KRA, KAM, Kephis, Kenya National Chamber of Commerce, Retail Traders Association among others. Speaking while unveiling the portal, dubbed Kenya trade portal, Cabinet Secretary Trade and Industrialisation Adan Mohamed said it will have information ranging from products available in the country, licensing requirements in the counties, wholesale and retail markets as well as licensed traders who could be targeted by manufacturers for distribution throughout the country. “The portal serves as a platform through which counties can promote intra-county trade through sharing information on goods available at county level and where the goods can be sourced. Through the portal, county governments have a cost-free medium of promoting trade through sharing information on county markets where products from the counties can be sourced.” Cabinet secretary Adan Mohamed said. He added that the portal provides an opportunity for traders across the globe to view Kenyan suppliers of goods and services and to pursue deals through interactions with specific companies that are profiled to the global limelight. ''This portal give Kenyans an opportunity...

Construction of the second phase of a modern container terminal at the port of Mombasa is set to start in January 2018. Kenya ports Authority (KPA) has already secured a US$ 339.2m loan from the Japanese government to finance the project construction. The Phase II project, which forms part of the broader Mombasa port upgrade and modernisation programme, which is estimated to cost a staggering $900-million, is aimed at transforming the port into a modern facility capable of serving not only Kenya but also the rest of the East African region. KPA MD Catherine Mturi-Wairi says the authority has embarked on the tendering process for Phase II, which involves the construction of Berth 22. “We have secured financing from the Japanese government and are now in the tendering process, with plans to break ground in January 2018,” she said. When completed, Phase II will provide additional capacity of 450 000 TEU/y. An envisaged third phase, which will involve the construction of Berth 23, will increase capacity by a further 500 000 TEU/y. In total, once all phases are completed, the terminal will have a total capacity of 1.5-million twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) a year. According to Mturi, the commissioning of 550 000-TEU/ Phase I which was completed in September last year has significantly enhanced the competitiveness of the port. Last year, the port handled 27.3-million tons of cargo, compared with 26.7-million tons in 2015. Further, container traffic increased from 1.08-million TEUs in 2015 to 1.09-million TEUs in 2016. Kenya hopes the...

The terminal will be built on 100 acres at Kilindini Harbour with the help of Japanese construction technology. It will have three berths with quay lengths of 230, 320 and 350m able to handle Panamax container ships of 20,000 dead weight tonnes (DWT) and Post Panamax vessels of 60,000 DWT. The announcement was made by Catherine Mturi-Wairi, the managing director of the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), who said: “We already have the financing from the Japanese government. We are now in the tendering process but construction must commence by January 2018.” The need to begin work quickly reflects the race between Kenya and Tanzania to establish themselves as the trade gateway for the wider east and central African regions. Both countries are fitting their main ports with multibillion dollar standard gauge rail lines to the Great Lakes countries of Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda. The Mombasa Port Development Project was begun in March 2012 with help from the Japan International Cooperation Agency. In February 2016 the project delivered three additional berths, and the following September it completed a container terminal with a capacity of 550,000 teu, which raised the port’s total capacity to 1.5 million teu, making it the largest container port between Durban in South Africa and Port Said in Egypt. The third phase of the scheme is due to be completed in 2022, and will include the construction of one more berth, the procurement of equipment and dredging work to increase the capacity of Mombasa’s approach channel and turning basin. Latest data from...

Kenya on Wednesday launched the National Trade Negotiations Council (NTNC) to handle bilateral, regional and multilateral trade talks. Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives Chris Kiptoo told a media briefing in Nairobi that the National Committee on World Trade Organization (NCWTO) has been providing the institutional framework for trade consultations and negotiations at the national level. "This framework worked well but only catered for the multilateral trade negotiations. The framework did not cover regional and bilateral trade though both processes benefited from the existence of the NCWTO," Kiptoo said. The council will also be responsible for advising the government on all trade matters related to the East African Community-European Union Economic Partnership Agreement as well as the Africa Continental Free Trade Area, he said. Kiptoo said the need to strengthen human and institutional capacity for bodies involved in trade development, promotion and negotiations compelled the government to transform the NCWTO into the NTNC. "The trade council is expected to explore how best to improve the country's trade negotiating capacity by utilizing the talents within the various government institutions to the advantage of the country," he added. Source: Xinhua Net

The cost of transporting a 40 foot (ft) container between Mombasa and Kampala, Kenya’s biggest transit trade market, has gone down 34.2 per cent in the last four years on the back of better roads, reduced police checks and efficiency at weighing points, a new report shows. Road freight costs decreased to Sh230,858 ($2,237) in 2016 from Sh350,880 in 2011. Automation at weigh stations greatly enhanced efficiencies, shows the 2016 Logistic Performance Survey launched in Nairobi last week by the Shippers Council of Eastern Africa (SCEA). This comes at a time new rail transport under development in the region is expected to increase competition for road transporters. The standard gauge railway (SGR), which starts its freight services early next year will charge Sh51,650 ($500) to transport a 20ft container between Mombasa and Nairobi and Sh103,300 ($1,000) for a 40ft container. According to the report, which analysed the performance of trade logistics of the East African Community’s member states with respect the indicators of time, cost and complexity against those of the world’s leading trade hub, road freight cost from Mombasa to Bujumbura decreased to Sh515,277 in 2016 from Sh825,600 in 2011. Cost from Mombasa to Nairobi for a 40 foot container declined from Sh134,160 in 2011 to an average of Sh90,712 in 2016. The average cost of transporting a 20ft container by sea was Sh186,792 and Sh279,672) for a 40ft container from the United Kingdom (UK) to Mombasa by sea. On the other hand, it cost Sh213,624 and Sh318,888 for...

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) forecasts that global trade will rise by 3.6 per cent by the end of 2017. This rapid growth in international trade evidenced by cargo volumes, travellers and conveyances presents increasingly new challenges. They include security threats of terrorism, illegal trade in natural resources, trade in substances that pose a threat to public health and safety, illicit financial flows (money laundering) as well as sea piracy. Cargo inspection therefore, is a critical aspect in safeguarding the supply chain security and protection of society against organised transnational crimes. For the last 15 years, the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has employed modern cargo inspection tools through use of x-ray cargo scanning systems at the Mombasa seaport and airports. The use of non-intrusive inspection equipment is consistent with the World Customs Organisation’s Safe Framework of Standards. The recent commissioning of three additional scanners, donated by China, at the Port of Mombasa is therefore a major milestone in sealing revenue leakages and in the fight against illegal importation and exportation of restricted and prohibited goods. The launch and deployment of these scanners will increase the port’s throughput capacity to scan up to 1,000 containers per day while at the same time increasing considerably the KRA scanner assets under the National Scanner Solution framework. Kenya serves as the gateway to East and Central Africa through the Port of Mombasa, which is both a transport and a logistics hub for the Northern Corridor Region. In 2015/2016, the x-ray cargo scanning unit at...

All cargo imports will be declared on a centralised tax system starting next week, the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) said, in a move expected to tighten the net on cheats and quicken customs clearance. The taxman currently clears import cargo using separate electronic platforms, mainly the upgrades on its Simba customs management systems introduced in 2005. The separate systems include direct assessment, valuation system, customs oil stock information, cargo management information system, electronic cargo tracking systems, customs ledger management module, air passenger service charge and real time monitoring system. KRA Commissioner for Customs and Border Control, Julius Musyoki said all cargo clearance would be gradually moved to an Integrated Customs Management System (iCMS) starting next week. “Please ensure compliance to avoid undue inconvenience” he said in a notice to importers. A schedule released by the KRA on Monday showed that all applications for import declaration fees (IDF) will from October 25,2017 be submitted and processed on the iCMS similar to all air cargo manifests and customs declarations for cargo arriving on or after November 6,2017. “All Sea Cargo Manifest and Customs Declarations for sea/ road cargo arriving on or after 13th November, 2017 shall be submitted and processed on iCMS,” the taxman further said. The iCMS will replace the Simba system which has been blamed for revenue leaks and delays in customs clearance. TradeMark Africa that co-financed the iCMS estimates that it would lead to a reduction of cargo clearance time by about 60 per cent. “Other gains include pre-lodgement...

EAST Africa is seeking to galvanise synergies of textiles industry players by linking the local cotton, textile and apparels industry to the untapped markets in the region, 'Daily News' has learnt. The East African Business Council (EABC) Chief Executive Officer, Ms Lilian Awinja, explained here that the East African Business and Entrepreneurship Conference and Exhibition would provide a platform for creating synergies and links between the local cotton and textile industries with local suppliers and fashion designers in a bid to propose an action plan outlining policies and modalities for promoting the sector's performance, productivity and quality. "It is a high time that EAC member countries embarked on manufacturing apparels such as inner garments, ties and scurfs that require low level technology and skills, as the region works on a phase out approach of imported second hand clothes. There is a huge opportunity for the African fashion and design industry to be in the spotlight on the international market," said Ms Awinja. The CEO noted that cotton production, processing and trade was highly influenced by policies of major producing countries, through price support, tariff protection, production subsidies and stock piling that destabilise cotton prices, and that competitiveness of the cotton industry in the East African Community (EAC) was faced with challenges such as low yields, ginning overcapacity, low ginning out-turn ratio and inefficient value addition. "Value addition in the cotton and textile Industry into innovative aesthetic accessories, interior designs and fashion can create more job opportunities in the stitched together...

A giraffe on the African Savannah with the tall buildings of a city on the horizon is often the picture many people think of when imagining Africa. They may not know it but the scene is from the Nairobi National Park, a park on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya’s capital city.  The Kenya Wildlife services on their website call it “The Worlds Wildlife Capital”. It’s a place I had for many years refused to go to, I was happy to go to Kenya’s coast or its Maasai Mara game reserve but I thought that a game reserve so close to the city was somehow not authentic. Till one year I was persuaded to visit and realised that it’s very authentic, a great place and very convenient being so close to the city. For some of the wildlife such as the lions, sometimes a bit too convenient as they can sometimes get out of the reserve and into the city with disastrous results both for the people living in the suburbs close to the reserve and for the lions. This convenience helps Kenya attract over 1.6 million tourists a year and contributes between 4% and 6% of the country’s GDP according to the World Travel and Tourism Council. Tourism is expected to grow in Kenya with around 13 new hotels planned over the next five years, with 2 400 rooms and brands such as Ramada, Radisson, Marriot and Móvenpick investing. These investments by the private sector are supported by a government...

Khartoum, apparently, had appealed to become member of the East African Community through an official application sent to Arusha back in November 2011, but the country was asked to hold on a bit, until South Sudan joined first, so that North Sudan could also have a common borderline with EAC member states. “North Sudan’s application was turned down because among the requirements for a country to become an affiliate state of the community, is for it to share a common border with any of the already existing members,” explained Mr Simon Owaka, the EAC Senior Public Relations Officer. “The Summit of EAC Heads of State rejected Sudan’s application because it failed largely to meet one criterion for the admission of a new partner state into the Community, namely, geographical proximity to and interdependence between the aspiring country and the partner states,” added Mr Owaka. He was responding to this paper’s question regarding what was next for Khartoum now that it was legible to join the East African Community. According to the official, since Khartoum now shares a border with the Republic of South Sudan (RSS), it qualifies to join the East African Community but North Sudan needs to apply afresh since the situation has just changed. But Mr Owaka remarked: “The requirement for geographical prox imity and other criteria notwithstanding, admission of a new country into the EAC is the prerogative of the Summit of Heads of State. It is also up to any country that wants to join the...