WHY EAC EXPORTS TO REST OF AFRICA KEEP ON RISING

BY GRACE MACHA IN ARUSHA

Africa accounted for 44 percent of total exports from the East African Community (EAC) region in 2022.

In the same year, the continent accounted for 25 percent of imports to the EAC bloc, President William Ruto of Kenya said when addressing a session of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) in Nairobi.

Intra-regional trade remains under siege from persistent non-tariff barriers (NTBs), costly trade disputes and conflicting trade regimes.

Weak enforcement and adequate resources are other challenges impacting growth of grade and investments in the region, the Kenyan leader explained. 

"Even as we prepare to get away from new and emerging challenges, we must take seriously our fundamental shortcoming being low involvement of the private sector", he said.

Regional trade analysts have repeatedly singled out NTBs as to blame for choking intra-regional EAC trade, thus undermining regional integration.

"EAC is now trading more with countries outside the bloc owing to persistent trade barriers", said the  EAC Trade and Investment Report 2022.

The fast-expanding economic bloc continues to record low intra-regional trade due to, among other factors, imposition of NTBs by the partner states.

This, the report said, has negatively impacted on the regional trade currently estimated at 15 to 20 percent even as the partner states are struggling to resolve them. 

According to the report, EAC has lately recorded increased business with West African countries, Japan, the United States, India, China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The coming in of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which has seen improved clearance at the border crossings also accounted for increased EAC trade with the rest of Africa.

He said clearance time at border crossings within the EAC and the routes connecting with other regional blocs, has reduced by 84 percent.

The Kenyan leader, however, implored the partner states to facilitate conclusion of Comesa-EAC-SADC tripartite free trade area and adoption of the EAC e-commerce strategy.

According to him, visa fees for cross border movements  in the region have "mostly been eliminated", with cross border communities now enjoying free movements.

Dr. Ruto told the legislators that with AfCFTA emerging as the next hub of global investment, trade and industry, the EAC should embrace the transformational paradigm.

"We must provide a strong framework for achieving rapid leap-frogging and the development of sustainable competitive advantage in emerging high-tech fields like the digital economy", he said.

"East African Community total trade in 2022 stood at $74 billion. The same year, Africa accounted for 44 per cent and 25 per cent of EAC’s total exports and imports respectively,” he said.

Eala, the legislative organ of the EAC, is currently holding sittings running from March 4 to March 20 in Nairobi Kenya in line with the Assembly’s a rotational arrangement.

Welcoming him to address the House, the Speaker of the regional Assembly Joseph Ntakirutimana envisioned a united and prosperous East Africa.

“Our fore fathers supported the idea of rotational sittings because it enhances the visibility of the EAC as it increases public awareness and participation of the people in the integration process,” he said.