NAIVASHA, Kenya, May 22 (Xinhua) -- An east African bloc said on Tuesday that its members have agreed to ratify a protocol that will allow pastoralists to freely and legally drive their livestock across borders in search of pastures. Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) member states, who are holding a two-day meeting in the Kenyan town of Naivasha, challenged respective governments to move with speed and ratify the protocol so that the livestock corridors could be opened up. "Currently we have close to 1 million cattle from Kenya grazing in Moroto area of Uganda, and this is part of achieving this transhumance protocol," said Adan Yussuf Haji, chairman of the Kenyan parliament's Livestock Sub-sector Committee. Haji said that once the protocol is enacted, the issue of cattle rustling along border points would be a thing of the past. He noted that in most cases the movement of pastoralists and their livestock was caused by lack of pastures and water. The lawmaker challenged respective governments to move with haste and ratify the protocol so that the livestock corridors could be opened up, noting that parliament had embarked on the process of setting up a Livestock Development Authority. "This country has never had such an authority which will come in handy in addressing challenges facing members of the pastoralists' community which rely on livestock," he said. The meeting was organized by the Center for Pastoral Areas and Livestock Development (ICPALD), IGAD's specialized institution for pastoral areas and livestock development, to discuss and...

FOOD  KAMPALA - The East African Community has launched the Regional East African Trade in staples (REACTS-II)project that will increase production of staple food to reduce  importations from non-member states. The three-year project worth sh22.2b agricultural covers Uganda, Kenya, and Rwanda. It is aimed at helping 300,000 small holder farmers across the three countries. The project is funded by Kilimo Trust with support from Alliance from Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). Speaking at the launch on Monday, the Deputy Prime minister, Moses Ali, presiding over the event said the project was timely as it will provide alternative guaranteed markets for farmers and formalise business in agriculture in the EAC partner states. “At the moment our farmers are held hostage by the middlemen and Uganda has no arrangement to buy from farmers as it was before liberalisation, in the 80s. We thought that with the introduction of the Warehouse Receipt System, this situation would be addressed,” Moses noted. He added that this will reap maximum benefits from national and regional trade. Moses further added that concerted efforts must be made to address the supply side constraints related to quantity, quality and regular supplies at competitive prices compared to imports from outside the region. He also noted that Kenya and Rwanda always experience an annual deficit of more than 400,000MT and 150,000MT respectively yet Uganda normally has a surplus of food. “Uganda has a comparative advantage having suitable agro-ecologies for production of maize and beans and a ready market for these products in...

China has asked East Africa countries to consider its free trade proposal, saying it will be of great economic benefit to the region. Chinese Embassy's economic and commercial affairs counsellor, Guo Ce further downplayed claims that Kenya had declined the plan, noting that they are yet to receive any formal response on the proposal from any of the EAC member countries. "Claims that Kenya has opposed free trade proposal are not true. Not a single country has responded to this proposal. The proposed trade arrangement will deepen economic and cultural ties between China and East Africa, opening numerous opportunities for business operators,’’ said Guo. Last week, Trade PS Chris Kiptoo told a local daily that Kenya will not sign a free trade agreement that China is advancing with EAC but instead propose for a preferential trade agreement with the Asian economic giant. Kiptoo said that the free trade pact will worsen the huge trade imbalance between the two countries and would further benefit China at the detriment of Kenya's economy. According to Economic Survey 2018, Kenya’s imports from China narrowly missed the Sh400 billion mark to hit Sh390 billion, accounting for 23 per cent of total imports. The glaring trade imbalance between Kenya and China resonates across Africa, with data from China Africa Research Initiative (CARI) showing that the continent sold $34 billion (Sh3.4 trillion) with China on a total trade of Sh17.2 trillion in 2015. "It is time we review our trade partnership with China if we want to...

The African Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) summit held in Kigali, Rwanda in March 2018 was supposed to be the culmination of former Ghanaian President Kwame Nkrumah’s dream of a truly united Africa. The CFTA, which was drafted in Niger in December 2017, envisages a trade area across the continent covering a market of 1.2bn people with a combined GDP of $2.5 trillion. According to research conducted by the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the agreement could boost African economic output to around $29 trillion by 2050, and increase intra-African trade significantly. Currently, it stands at around 18% of total trade, which compares negatively to 59% in Asia and 69% in Europe. But just days before leaders from across the continent were supposed to sign the agreement, Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari announced that Africa’s largest economy would not sign up to the historic accord pending further discussions with local trade unions and the business community. The move surprised most delegates in the opulent conference hall of the Kigali Convention Centre, especially because part of the agreement was negotiated under the chairpersonship of Nigeria. The country’s absence was compounded by the fact that South Africa, which is the continent’s second-largest economy, also did not sign up to the agreement. The absence of the two largest economies, however, did not come as a shock to one of the architects of the agreement, David Luke, coordinator of the African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC) at UNECA. “It’s not all that surprising that we...

Regional integration ranks among the most beneficial policies pursued by Kenya and its neighbours. By creating one large market, pooling resources and influence, East Africa is able to punch way above the weight of individual members. A bigger market is better placed to create jobs and prosperity. It is also more attractive to external investment. The East African Community (EAC) has travelled further down this road than many people realise. On all four fronts — creation of a customs union, common market, monetary union and a political federation — progress has been made, albeit, of course, amid challenges. The challenges are, however, tackled in an atmosphere of amity, mutual respect and trust. ONE MARKET A customs union has existed in East Africa since 2005. Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Burundi and South Sudan have agreed to trade freely without charging goods and services originating from these countries any taxes and all goods entering their markets are charged a standard duty, the common external tariff. This, effectively, creates one market. Subsequent to the customs union, which became fully fledged in 2010, is the common market — in force for eight years. This allows the movement of goods, labour and capital and citizens to travel, work and live anywhere in the community. Member states do not move at the same speed but they do not have to — so long as they are committed and moving in the same direction. Kenya has opened its doors to all East Africans, setting an example to...

LUSAKA, ZAMBIA- There are basically three ways to earn an income – stealing, inheriting or trading goods, services and assets. Stealing in its myriad forms is contrary to good public policy. Inheritance would be limited and subject to vicissitudes. Trade at various levels has been acceptable architecture for incomes. The higher the trade values, the better for income generation. Lots of jeremiads about low intra-Africa trade have been churned out. Figures of a decade ago, putting intra-Africa trade at 10 to 12 percent of total trade, still haunt recent analysis. According to the COMTRADE data base, 2016 figures put intra-Africa trade at 21.2 percent. This is still low relative to EU at 61.7 percent, NAFTA at 50.3 percent and ASEAN at 24.3 percent, which are more developed regions. Intra-Africa trade levels, however, are comparable to or higher than those of other developing regions, with MERCOSUR and CARICOM at 13.6 and 9.7 percent in 2016 respectively. It can be noted also that the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite region accounts for 72 percent of intra-Africa trade, and Africa is the No.1 export market for the Tripartite region and several other countries. In a global environment of protectionist tit-for-tats sparked off by the Donald Trump of the United States, threatening a melt-down of the international trade system, conclusion of the African Continental Free Trade Area by 44 countries on 21 March 2018 in Rwanda, sent delightful reverberations around the world. This Agreement is expected to double intra-African trade, and as such a panacea to the low levels. A...

The Access Bank UK looking into Shariah-compliant offerings The Access Bank UK, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nigeria's Access Bank, aims to strengthen its Dubai position as local operations here are performing better than expected due to strong and growing trade ties between China, the Middle East and Sub-Sahara Africa, said a senior official. Jamie Simmonds, CEO and managing director of The Access Bank UK, said the amount of business flows between the UAE and Sub-Saharan Africa are expanding rapidly and the decision to have representation has reaped to have its benefits here. "For more broad views, the handshake between China and Sub-Saharan [Africa] is equally growing. We have a good presence in China; it also required good representation here and we are seeing benefit of that," he said. The bank's profit grew by 80 per cent from £9.9 million to £17.8 million. Included within these results was an improving performance from the bank's international branch in Dubai, which delivered income of £671,00 (Dh3.4 million), ensuring positive contribution after meeting its direct costs. "It [profits from Dubai operations] may not sound a lot but it covered more than cost base for us. And we are seeing considerable increase on the performance delivered in 2017. For Dubai, we are slightly ahead of what we expected to be; we want a sustainable base to be built around relationship. It takes time but once it happens it give rapid pace to the growth," he said. The bank has an office at the Dubai International...

One major factor that has continued to stigmatize the continent of Africa is lack of infrastructure. The African Development Bank (AFDB) reported that Africa has an infrastructure gap that would require approximately $112 billion per year over the next decade to fix. This situation explains why both intra-and extra-African trade has been negatively impacted over the years. The development of infrastructure in the transport sector including rail systems, roads, new maritime routes and ports expansion, are crucial to trade facilitation and economic growth. Now, it appears this critical issue is receiving some attention following an aggressive push from all stakeholders including multilateral agencies. Many African countries have started addressing this challenge as we have seen turnkey projects being undertaken across the region through different partnership vehicles and financial models. According to Deloitte’s Africa Construction Trends (ACT) report of 2017, 303 projects valued at $307 billion are currently ongoing in the continent with Transport and Power sectors dominating. Sub-Saharan Africa is experiencing unprecedented magnitude of infrastructural development in the transportation industry especially railways. In East Africa – Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania have launched major transportation programs linking ports expansion to modern rail systems and road networks to facilitate easy access to market. To reference a few of these key projects, under the East African Railway Master Plan, the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) system connecting port of Mombasa to Nairobi will eventually be extended to Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan and Ethiopia. This megaproject is currently transforming logistics in the sub-region. Ports...

The ability of global trade to feed the world is one of the great success stories of the past generation. More than 1 billion people faced hunger on a planet of 5.6 billion a quarter-century ago; that number has fallen to 800 million, even as the population has grown to 7.6 billion. Trade has brought much of that progress: Shippers and exporters have become better and better at getting affordable food from places of surplus to regions of scarcity. But the planet is at rising risk of choking on its good fortune. More people, less hunger In billions, 2000-2016 Population Undernourished The shipping of farm commodities by road, rail and sea—the basics of how a harvest gets from Point A to Point B—remains concentrated on increasingly vulnerable trade routes that, when disrupted, become “chokepoints” in the global food supply, suddenly raising food prices and cutting off supplies when they fail. From aging locks and dams on the Mississippi River and days-long traffic delays in the heart of Brazil to political unrest on routes serving the Black Sea, the Middle East and China, transit networks are strained from growing agricultural shipments. Agricultural goods exported worldwide Billions of tons, 1990-2016 Global farm-commodity trade volume nearly tripled from 2000 to 2016, to 1.66 billion tons, according to UN data. Nearly half of all soybeans, almost a quarter of all wheat and more than an eighth of all corn is traded internationally, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data. Percentage of major crops exported...

Kenya has has warned it will block the entry of Tanzanian goods into the country after Dar es Salaam’s refusal to allow duty-free entry of Kenyan-made confectionery, juice, ice cream and chewing gum. Tanzanian authorities have been given up to the end of the month to visit the Kenyan firms to find out if imported industrial sugar is being used in the products at the centre of the trade spat which remains unresolved since March. Dar slapped a 25 per cent import duty on Kenyan firms in confectionery business, citing use of imported zero-rated industrial sugar in the goods. “Tanzania Verification Mission to visit Kenya on use of duty free sugar imports on confectioneries to be completed in two weeks (May 31, 2018). "Failure to adhere will result in implementation of retaliatory measures,” said the report of a presidential roundtable. “All manufacturers (have been) requested to comply and co-operate with the Tanzania Verification Mission.” Rejected certificates Tanzania rejected certificates of origin issued by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and opted to levy 25 per cent import duty on Kenyan confectioneries. Acceptance of the certificate — a document showing where a product has originated from and is used to determine duty for imported goods — guaranteed the entry of Kenyan goods tax-free passage to Uganda and Tanzania. The East Africa Community common market made up of Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi allows free movement of locally manufactured goods within the bloc. Tanzania and Uganda revenue bodies have however accused Kenyan...