he ECOWAS Commission organized the 5th Meeting of the ECOWAS Regional Trade Facilitation Committee (RTFC) in Cotonou, Benin from 30th April to 3rd May 2024. The meeting aimed to advance the status of regional trade facilitation initiatives within the ECOWAS region whilst focusing on enhancing the implementation of existing initiatives, addressing non-tariff barriers, and strengthening the agri-food value chain.   On behalf of Madam Shadiya Alimatou Assouman, the Honourable Minister of Industry and Trade of Benin, Mr. Benjamin ALAMENOU welcomed participants to Cotonou. In his remarks, he outlined the need to overcome trade barriers to realize the vision of free trade and the importance of initiatives like the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS), Brown Card Scheme, and Common External Tariff (CET) towards achieving the ECOWAS Vision 2050. He called upon Member States to leverage the meeting as a platform for engaging in productive discussions to collaboratively address trade barriers and foster regional trade growth.  The ECOWAS Resident Representative to Benin, Ambassador Amadou DIONGUE extended a warm welcome to the meeting’s participants and partners collaborating with Member States to advance trade facilitation in the region. He highlighted the significance of the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) and highlighted the progress made in implementing trade facilitation measures in the region including the establishment of National Trade Facilitation Committees (NTFC) and the RTFC.  Inspection Of Seme Krake Jbp By Rtfc The representative of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment from the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Chairperson of the...

The Ethiopian government has received the first shipment of 60,000 tonnes of fertiliser imported through the Port of Lamu from Morocco. This is the first time Ethiopia is importing cargo through Lamu Port since its operationalisation three years ago. In the past few months, a delegation from Ethiopia has been assessing the viability of Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transit (Lapsset) corridor. For many years, Ethiopia has been mainly using the Port of Djibouti and Mombasa. On Saturday, an Ethiopian ship, MV Abbay II, started offloading the 60,000 tonnes of bulk fertiliser. Kenya Ports Authority managing director William Ruto said this is the largest consignment of bulk fertiliser to have docked in Kenya. “Indeed, this is a testament to many years of planning, dedication and hard work towards positioning the Port of Lamu as a logistics hub in the region,” he said. The fertiliser was bagged at the port, before being loaded on the waiting trucks for transportation to Ethiopia. “We are thankful and believe this is the first of the many vessels carrying Ethiopian bound cargo that we shall handle going forward,” Ruto said. Ethiopia’s Minister of Agriculture Girma Amante said the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transit Corridor is a transformative project critical for Africa's ambition to establish a continental free trade area, as it supports the free movement of goods, services and people across the borders. “Ethiopia is one of the fastest-growing economies in Africa, given the size of its population, as the second most populous country in Africa. Therefore, it...

Uganda and Kenya have agreed to remove all the tariff and non-tariff barriers that have been increasing the cost of trade in order to promote mutual economic growth. This is according to the joint communique of the Second Session of Uganda-Kenya Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) in Kampala that was issued by the host country’s foreign affairs ministry on Tuesday, May 14, 2024. Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic had delayed the convening of the 2nd session of JMC which had been scheduled to be held in 2021. Over the weekend, the two-day session, at the Sheraton Hotel, kicked off on May 12, with the delegation of the Kenya being led by Dr. Musalia Mudavadi, the Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, while that of Uganda being led by Gen (rtd)  A.Jeje Odongo, the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The communique issued on Tuesday evening (today) states that the two ministers identified the opportunities existing in their two countries that could be exploited for the socio-economic transformation of their respective citizens. “They also identified the challenges that have affected the free flow of bilateral trade and agreed to resolve all the tariff and non-tariff barriers in order to promote mutual growth, development and prosperity. In this regard, they directed their technical officials to meet and consult regularly,” it said. They welcomed the proposal to hold a joint technical committee meeting to address any trade and investment issues that may still be...

L'Organisation africaine de la normalisation a déclaré que tous les pays du continent doivent harmoniser leurs normes pour pouvoir commercer efficacement dans le cadre de la Zone de libre-échange continentale africaine. S'exprimant lors du 38e atelier du Comité d'évaluation de la conformité de l'Organisation internationale de normalisation (ISO), organisé par le Bureau national ougandais de normalisation (UNBS), M. Hermogene Nsengimana, secrétaire général de l'Organisation africaine de normalisation, a déclaré que si le rêve de la zone de libre-échange continentale africaine devait se réaliser, tous les pays devraient veiller à ce que leurs normes soient harmonisées afin de réduire la duplication des efforts. "Nous devrions suivre l'exemple de la Communauté d'Afrique de l'Est, qui a commencé à harmoniser ses normes. Nous devons avancer ensemble si nous voulons stimuler le commerce intracontinental", a-t-il déclaré, notant qu'il y a eu une tentative d'harmonisation des normes de traitement pour les produits agricoles, les produits pharmaceutiques, les automobiles et les transports au niveau continental. "Nous comptons plus de 1 800 normes. En juin, 200 d'entre elles auront été harmonisées. Cela permettra de réduire les doublons et nous essayons également de simplifier les règles pour les commerçants", a-t-il déclaré. Les échanges commerciaux à travers l'Afrique continuent d'être perturbés en raison des variations dans les normes des produits et les spécifications des pays. Par exemple, l'année dernière, le Bureau national des normes du Sud-Soudan a confisqué plusieurs camions ougandais transportant des céréales, de la farine et du blé, sous prétexte qu'ils n'avaient pas passé les tests de...

L'Éthiopie s'est engagée dans la transformation de son secteur agricole en lançant le développement du système intégré de certification des exportations et des importations (IEICS), également connu sous le nom de système e-Phyto. Cette initiative numérique, fruit d'une collaboration entre l'Autorité agricole éthiopienne (EAA) et TradeMark Africa (TMA), vise à rationaliser le processus commercial des exportations et des importations agricoles. L'Union européenne, par l'intermédiaire de l'Agence française de développement (AFD), a financé le projet à hauteur de 9,1 millions d'ETB (149 000 euros). Ce passage au numérique remplacera les processus de certification traditionnels basés sur le papier, ce qui réduira considérablement les coûts de transaction et, en fin de compte, les émissions de carbone. Le système e-Phyto, qui est sur le point de remplacer les processus archaïques de certification manuelle et sur papier, représente un grand pas en avant pour le secteur agricole éthiopien. En adoptant des solutions numériques, l'Éthiopie cherche à rationaliser les processus, à améliorer l'efficacité et à favoriser la transparence tout au long de la chaîne de valeur agricole. Grâce à une intégration transparente avec les systèmes internationaux de certificats phytosanitaires, le système e-Phyto fournira des services dématérialisés de bout en bout pour la certification des importations et des exportations, depuis la soumission de la demande jusqu'à la délivrance du certificat. Le directeur adjoint de l'Autorité agricole éthiopienne (EAA) et chef de l'ONPV éthiopienne, Ato Wondale Habtamu, a déclaré que la transition du secteur agricole éthiopien vers un système e-Phyto s'aligne sur les tendances mondiales vers des...

Kenya-Ethiopia trade relations have been on the rise in the past 27 years, with Kenya having the upper hand.  Ethiopia, on the other hand, recorded an increase at an annualised rate of 23.7 per cent. During the Meeting Kenyan investors also undertook exhibitions showcasing some of their products. Kenya and Ethiopia have renewed the push to streamline the bottlenecks that are hampering trade growth between the two states. A delegation of the National Assembly to the Kenya-Ethiopia Trade and Investment Mission held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, has rooted for the speedy removal of bottlenecks hampering cross-border trade between both Nations. Kenya and Ethiopia have engaged in bilateral trade across multiple sectors, including agriculture, manufacturing, energy, and services, with the balance of trade hugely in favour of Kenya. In 2022, Kenya exported $95.1M (Sh12.8billion) to Ethiopia, mainly Palm Oil $12.4M (Sh1.7billion), Metal Stoppers $7.95M (Sh1.1billion), and Yeast $6.92M (Sh934million). This compares to just $26.6m (Sh3.6billion) that Ethiopia exported to Kenya in the period, mainly comprising dried legumes $6.26M (Sh845million), dried vegetables $5.01M (Sh675million), and corn $2.68M (Sh362million). According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) a platform focused on the geography and dynamics of economic activities, during the last 27 years the exports of Kenya to Ethiopia have increased at an annualized rate of 4 percent, from $33M (Sh4.5billion) in 1995 to $95.1M (Sh12.8billion) in 2022. Electricity is among Ethiopia’s exports to Kenya [photo/East African] Ethiopia, on the other hand, recorded an increase at an annualised rate of 23.7 per cent, from $85.8k...

Malawi has ratified the Tripartite Free Trade Agreement, bringing the total number of state that have done so to 12. Now, only two are remaining to reach the requisite threshold of 14 to enable the agreement to enter into force. The ratification instrument, signed by Malawi Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon Nancy Tembo was delivered to the office of the Secretary General of COMESA, Chileshe Mpundu Kapwepwe. The Tripartite FTA is an inter-regional co-operation and integration arrangement amongst countries of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). To date, 22 Member States have signed the TFTA Agreement, and 12 have ratified it. These are Egypt, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Eswatini, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi. The Tripartite FTA was launched in June 2015 in Egypt to enhance integration among the Tripartite Member/Partner States for their mutual benefit and to pursue the development of common programmes which will enable all parties to utilise the available resources effectively. In addition, it is intended to harmonise trade and investment regimes and in particular to establish a Free Trade Area amongst COMESA, EAC and SADC; enhance inter-REC economic cooperation. It is also intended to harmonise infrastructure programmes focusing on developing joint inter-regional infrastructure, and co-operation on transport and communications and financing of regional infrastructure projects. The implementation of the TFTA will facilitate the movement of businesspersons in the Tripartite region and enable the development of joint programmes...

The IMF has identified South Sudan, Burundi, and the DRC as East African Community member states poised for significant economic growth in the 2024–2025 period. GDP growth in Burundi is projected to increase from 4.3 to 5.4 percent and in the DRC from 4.7 to 5.7%. Kenya leads regionally with a projected GDP of $104 billion, ranking 7th overall among the continent’s largest economies. The economic outlook for East African Community member states South Sudan, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is poised for significant economic growth in the 2024–2025 period. This prognosis by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) comes despite these nations grappling with conflicts, marking them as among the most fragile in the region. In its latest regional economic outlook report for Sub-Saharan Africa, the IMF forecasts a noteworthy 1.2 percent gross domestic product (GDP) growth for South Sudan, from 5.6 to 6.8 percent, despite ongoing economic disruptions and humanitarian support challenges caused by the neighboring conflict in Sudan. Similarly, GDP growth in Burundi is projected to increase from 4.3 to 5.4 percent and in the DRC from 4.7 to 5.7 percent. Surprisingly, these three conflict-affected countries are expected to outperform their peers, although the report does not delve into specific reasons for this optimistic outlook. Sub-Saharan Africa economic outlook On the other hand, four out of the remaining five EAC countries are forecast to experience growth rates below 1 percent, with Kenya and Rwanda having the lowest trajectory forecasts at 0.1 and 0.3 per cent, respectively....

What you need to know: The African Organisation for Standards says for the African Continental Free Trade Area dream to be realised, all countries must ensure that their standards are harmonised to reduce duplication The African Organisation for Standards has said all countries on the continent must harmonise their standards to effectively trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area. Speaking at the 38th International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) Committee for Conformity Assessment workshop organised by Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS), Dr Hermogene Nsengimana, the African Organisation for Standards secretary general, said if the African Continental Free Trade Area dream is to be achieved, all countries must ensure that their standards are harmonised to reduce duplication. “We should borrow a leaf from the East African Community where they started harmonising standards. We need to move together if we want to push intra-continental trade,” he said, noting there has been an attempt to harmonise agro-processing, pharmaceuticals, automotive and transport standards at the continental level. “We have over 1,800 standards. By June 200 would have been harmonised. This will reduce duplication and we are also trying to make standards simple for traders,” he said. Trade across Africa continues to be disrupted due to variances in product standards and country specifications. For instance, the South Sudan National Bureau of Standards last year seized several Ugandan trucks carrying cereals, flour, and wheat due to claims that they failed the aflatoxin test. The 38th International Organisation for Standardisation meeting discussed emerging standards development, implementation,...

Lors d'une réunion historique de deux jours qui s'est tenue au siège de la Communauté de l'Afrique de l'Est (CAE) à Arusha, en Tanzanie, la République du Kenya et la République unie de Tanzanie ont réussi à répondre à des préoccupations de longue date concernant l'exportation de volailles et de produits à base de volaille entre les deux pays. Dans ses remarques, M. Rabson Wanjala, coprésident kenyan de la réunion, a souligné l'importance cruciale du commerce entre les deux pays, en insistant sur la nécessité de poursuivre les consultations afin de rationaliser et de faciliter les processus commerciaux. Wanjala a déclaré que les deux pays s'étaient engagés à favoriser les relations commerciales, ajoutant que les engagements pris soulignaient l'importance des efforts de collaboration pour garantir l'augmentation des échanges dans la région. Pour sa part, le Dr. Benezeth Lutege Malinda, co-président de la réunion pour la Tanzanie, a fait écho aux sentiments de M. Wanjala, ajoutant que la Tanzanie s'est engagée à faire en sorte que toutes les agences de facilitation du commerce abordent et résolvent tous les problèmes qui entravent le commerce, en particulier les barrières non tarifaires (BNT) au commerce. "Nous restons déterminés à relever ces défis et à favoriser un environnement propice à la fluidité des échanges entre le Kenya et la Tanzanie", a-t-il déclaré. Le Kenya a toujours été un exportateur important de volailles et de produits liés à la volaille vers la Tanzanie, notamment de poussins d'un jour, d'œufs à couver, de géniteurs et de produits...