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Uganda has confirmed that it is ready to start trading under the AfCFTA Guided Trade Initiative. Kenya and Rwanda have already started trading under the initiative that was officially launched in October 2022.
Uganda has confirmed that it is ready to start trading under the AfCFTA Guided Trade Initiative. Kenya and Rwanda have already started trading under the initiative that was officially launched in October 2022. The initiative is an effort to test the environmental, legal, and trade policy basis for intra-African trade in a pilot phase. The initial phase involved eight countries namely, Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Tunisia, Tanzania, and Rwanda.
The announcement was made in Kampala, Uganda, on March 21 by the East Africa Business Council (EABC) Vice Chairperson, Simon Kaheru at the Private Sector Sensitization Workshop on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement on Trade in Goods Protocol. The meeting was jointly organized by the EABC, the Private Sector Foundation of Uganda (PSFU), and the Uganda Manufacturers Association and supported by GIZ.
The share of intra-Africa exports to total global exports is expected to increase in Tanzania by 28%, Uganda by 29%, Rwanda by 33%, and Kenya by 43%. The EABC CEO, John Bosco Kalisa, observed that Ugandan exports to Africa have started recording positive trends. Its exports to Africa were estimated to be US $ 1.77 billion in 2021 increasing by 26% from US $ 1.4 billion in 2020. Uganda’s principal exports include coffee, milk, sugar, beverages, iron and steel, cooking oils, and cement. Currently, Uganda exports $99.8 million worth of sugar to the continent and has an additional capacity to export $53 million of sugar to the continent.
Read Also;
http://trendsnafrica.com/uganda-goes-up-in-ranking-of-legal-compliance/
http://trendsnafrica.com/kenya-and-uganda-to-focus-on-joint-investments-and-move-away-from-ntbs/
The private sector workshop on AfCFTA was attended by 50 business leaders in Uganda who were educated about the AfCFTA Trade in Goods Protocol including Rules of Origin, Tariff Concession, Non-Tariff Barriers and implications to businesses in the EAC bloc.
