Regional tea exports at the Mombasa Auction have increased, according to the East African Tea Export Auctions report released last week. All the five East Africa member states including Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and Mozambique registered an increase in exports at the Tea Auction held between April 9 and April 10. The increase, the report says, was occasioned by growth in demand and a rise in crop production. According to the report more than 7.4 million kilogramme bags were sold up from 6.4 million bags sold around the same time last year. This indicates an increase of 8.2 per cent. The five East African member states including Mozambique participated in the auction out of the 10 countries listed at the auction. The other countries, including DR Congo, Malawi, Madagascar and Ethiopia registered no trade. George William Ssekitooleko, the Uganda Tea Association executive secretary, said last week the rains have facilitated growth in crop yield across the region. However, despite an increase in supply prices increased to $1.6 (Shs5,808) up from $1.3 (Shs4,700) per kilogramme. Ignatius Byarugaba, the Uganda Tea Development Agency chief executive officer, said last week prices have been stable in the last three-years and a slight increase would be good news to the market. According to the report Kenya exported 5.7 million kilogrammes bags compared to 5.4 million it exported last year. Uganda, the region's second largest exporter sold 839,824 kilogramme bags up from 747,003 kilogrammes bags exported in the same month last year. EA tea exports...

THE new Head of European Union, EU, Delegation to Nigeria, Mr. Ketil Iversen Karlsen was at the State House, Abuja on April 5, to present his Letter of Credence to President Muhammadu Buhari. His main message was that the Economic Partnership Agreement, EPA, between the EU and the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, was designed to accommodate and protect economies that would find it difficult to compete. He told President Buhari: “We are hopeful that there will be a signature on the agreement.’’ He was referring to Nigeria’s refusal since 2000, to sign the agreement with the Europeans. It is worthy to note that former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan were not convinced by the EU’s sugarcoated tongue and had despite tremendous pressures, refused to sign. President Buhari was also not going to break faith with the Nigerian and African people. He pointedly told the super envoy that Nigeria will not sign the agreement because there is the need to protect its economy, especially the industries and small businesses which currently provide jobs for majority Nigerians. He also stated that the agreement would expose Nigerian indust ries and small businesses to external pressures and competitions, which could lead to factory closures and job losses. Additionally, he said, Nigerian industries currently, cannot compete with the more efficient and highly technologically-driven industries in Europe. One should add that the EPA which would open our markets to unfair competition from Europe, would despite the EU’s promises, turn Nigeria...

Truck drivers plying the Uganda Juba route are calling on heads of state of the East African community to remind South Sudan of the policy on free movement of goods, services and people under the East African Community. Their call follows continuous harassment by South Sudan security officials through the many illegal road blocks along the way. For example, from Elegu/ (Nimule) to Juba, there are 18 road blocks. Out of these, only 6 are legal. At every illegal point, truck drivers have to part with bribes, fuel, food items. Failure to do so results into torture, shooting, sexual harassment on females, destruction of items among others. The call was made by truck drivers through their chairman, Byron Kinene in a meeting they convened at the border recently. The meeting followed the shooting of a Kenyan female truck driver at Jebereni, 45 kilometres from Elegu border point. “We want heads of state to compel South Sudan government to adhere to demands of regional integration, which includes free movement of goods and services, respect of human rights, and humane treatment of residents from all member states,” said Kinene. Late last month, a female Kenyan truck driver was shot at a place called Jebereni 45 kilometers from Juba/Nimule road towards Juba. This promoted a strike that was later in which a total of 250 trucks were packed on the border causing congestions. Implications on trade The more truck drivers lose money in transit, the more the consumers suffer, because the cost will be transferred to...

Africa’s increasing integration has been much talked about over the past couple of weeks. The progress displayed on this project is one for which Africa’s political leadership deserves praise, and is one of the most significant developments on the continent for many years. Africa’s cooperation efforts date back to 1963, but attempts to achieve this broad strategic objective have failed over the years. The signing of the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) deal by 44 of the African Union’s 55 member states marks a watershed moment for African integration. With the dream of an interconnected Africa now closer than ever before, the continent could welcome new economic opportunities in the coming decade. However, the fragmentation of the African market remains its most significant challenge.  Transportation and communication costs are high when compared to other markets such as China, Europe, or the US. These high costs are holding back the development of integrated supply chains throughout the continent. Africa is headed in the right direction though, with initiatives such as the recent common air transport market, which could drive down airfares, as well as plans for visa-free travel for Africans across the continent. Infrastructure in Africa is just beginning to develop. Ambitious schemes like the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia-Transport Corridor Project (LAPSSET) in Kenya are what the continent needs. LAPSSET is an attempt to build a transport and logistics hub which would cement Kenya as a gateway to the East African sub-region. The rail network is growing quickly, though only within the...

The African Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) agreement was signed by 44 countries on March 22, committing them to remove tariffs on 90 per cent of imports. This according to Renaissance Capital is expected to improve intra-regional trade which stands at 20 per cent in Africa vs 62 per cent between advanced economies. Meanwhile, of Africa’s regional blocs, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has the highest intra-regional trade at 23 per cent. The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) has the lowest at 8 per cent, albeit up from 4 per cent in 2000. RenCap found that the blocs with higher intra-regional trade – SADC and the East Africa Community (EAC), albeit a far second at 10 per cent – have diversified exports and the advantage of having member states that are geographically close. It said that COMESA’s export diversity is undermined by the fact that member states are geographically distant (Swaziland to Egypt). The bloc with the lowest export diversity is the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). RenCap attributed this to the dominance of commodities (crude oil, cocoa, gold) that are exported to offshore processing facilities. However, Dangote Cement’s plan to export 3mnt pa of clinker (c. 17 per cent of its Nigerian production) from 4Q18 could see intra-ECOWAS trade improve from 9 per cent. Intra-regional trade is a growing African story According to RenCap, compared with other regions of the world, trade between African countries is low because several countries export the same...

Escalating tensions between the US and China could hurt a global trade expansion that’s already expected to be lower this year than in 2017, the World Trade Organization said Thursday. The Geneva-based body warned that there are signs a looming global standoff is already affecting business confidence and investment decisions, possibly jeopardizing the projected growth, Bloomberg reported. The warning chimes with that of Christine Lagarde of the International Monetary Fund, who cautioned on Wednesday that the world economy must avoid being sucked into a protectionist spiral. The global trading system, which has reduced extreme poverty, cut living costs and created millions of high-paying jobs, “is now in danger of being torn apart,” she said. “This important progress could be quickly undermined if governments resort to restrictive trade policies, especially in a tit-for-tat process that could lead to an unmanageable escalation,” WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo said in a prepared statement. “It is not possible to accurately map out the effects of a major escalation, but clearly it could be serious,” Azevedo told a news conference in presenting the WTO report. He said that “risks to the forecast are significant and they are predominantly on the downside” while adding that technically a trade war has not started. Cycle of Retaliation Trade growth could suffer as a result of Trump’s pugnacious approach to trade and his administration’s preference for unilateral tariffs rather than negotiated solutions within the context of the WTO. His stance has already generated strong backlash from China. “A cycle of...

Africa’s increasing integration has been much talked about over the past couple of weeks. The progress displayed on this project is one for which Africa’s political leadership deserves praise, and is one of the most significant developments on the contitnet for many years. Africa’s cooperation efforts date back to 1963, but attempts to achieve this broad strategic objective have failed over the years. The signing of the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) deal by 45 of the African Union’s 55 member states marks a watershed moment for African integration. With the dream of an interconnected Africa now closer than ever before, the continent could welcome new economic opportunities in the coming decade. However, the fragmentation of the African market remains its most significant challenge.  Transportation and communication costs are high when compared to other markets such as China, Europe, or the US. These high costs are holding back the development of integrated supply chains throughout the continent. Africa is headed in the right direction though, with initiatives such as the recent common air transport market, that could drive down airfares, as well as plans for visa-free travel for Africans across the continent. Infrastructure in Africa is just beginning to develop. Ambitious schemes like the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia-Transport Corridor Project (LAPSSET) in Kenya are what the continent needs. LAPSSET is an attempt to build a transport and logistics hub which would cement Kenya as a gateway to the East African subregion. The rail network is growing quickly, though only with the borders of specific countries. However, the East...

Entrepreneur, and philanthropist, Tony O. Elumelu will lead a 5-day working visit to East Africa, where he will meet withnational leaders of Kenya and Uganda. In his capacity as Chairman of United Bank for Africa (UBA), Mr. Elumelu will travel to Uganda (April 10) and Kenya (April 12) to meet with the Executive Presidents of both nations, Uhuru Kenyatta and Yoweri K. Musevenito discuss issues around the growth and development of the their economies, enabling entrepreneurship, infrastructure financing, regional economic growthand how the private sector in Africa can work in shared purpose alongside African governments to create prosperity for all Africans. On the side lines of these engagements, the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) will gather members of the full local ecosystem – from investors to academia to established and emerging entrepreneurs alike – for an entrepreneurship ecosystem event. During the event, TEF alumni and members of the vibrant Kenyan and Ugandan entrepreneurship communities will receive insights from guest speakers who will provide practical, practicable information to help the audience develop their businesses and their business management skills. Guest speakers include leaders from TEF partner Microsoft and other ecosystem players including Google. During the visit, Elumelu will also meet with key stakeholders and policy makers in the countries to discuss infrastructural funding opportunities, as well as interact with leading private and public sectors players. He will host a Founder’s Forum with students of Makerere University, Kampala and University of Nairobi, two leading African institutions. At this Forum he will give young Africans...

The search for a single East African currency is set to go a notch higher as the regional parliament prepares laws for setting up key institutions. The East African Legislative Assembly (Eala) has said its committees are using the three-week Dodoma sittings, which began on April 9 to collect views on the East Africa Monetary Institute (EAMI) Bill, 2017 and the Statistics Bureau Bill, 2017, which had earlier sailed through the first and second readings. The Monetary Institute Bill seeks to set up EAMI as an agency to initially perform the role of a regional central bank. It will be expected to craft policies required to back a single currency. The EA Statistics Bureau Bill will on the other hand create a regional agency akin to European Union’s Eurostat, charged with gathering data  to guide decision making within the EAC Monetary Union. The Eala’s Committee on Communications and Trade is currently engaging with stakeholders on the regional Statistics Bureau Bill while its General Purpose Committee is handling views on the EAC Monetary Institute Bill. The East African ministers, including Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for East African Community and Northern Corridor Development Peter Munya, are among the stakeholders on queue to exchange views with the Eala committees. “The Council of Ministers for EAC is thus expected to meet with the committees to thrash out key matters on both Bills,” Eala said in a statement The two agencies are among the enabling institutions whose absence has delayed the region’s match to a single...

The creation of a continental free trade area across the African continent poses unique conflict of interest challenges for the signatories. Last month, African leaders descended upon Kigali, Rwanda, the Land of a Thousand Hills’ capital, to ink an agreement that is meant to smoothen the rough terrain of intra-African trade. Nearly 50 years after independence movements swept across Africa, the continent is still struggling to find its footing. The challenges are exacerbated by both the internal makeup of the countries and a shifting geopolitical environment. In 2014, African heads of state saw a rare invite to Washington by the Obama administration to discuss trade, investment and security. This was seen as a counterbalance to the growing Chinese influence on the continent; by 2014 China-Africa trade totaled $200 billion, up from approximately $100 billion during the 2008 financial crisis. With the chaotic and confusing nature of the geopolitical challenges and the continued courting of African countries by both Beijing, through the new and ambition Belt and Road Initiative, and by the Washington security gospel, Africa finds itself in a position where it has to define its fortunes. By 2010, trade between African countries was only 11%, compared to 50% within Asia, 21% in Latin America and Caribbean, with Europe leading at 70% of internal trade. The picture is not of a continent that less than 130 years ago had no artificial boundaries and where its people traded and migrated freely. The African Union has embarked on an initiative that is...