Business
Intra-EAC Trade Up by 11.2% in 2022 on DRC Entry
According to data, total East African Community (EAC) trade scaled by 13.4% to $74.1 billion (Sh10.55 trillion) in 2022 from $65.3 billion (Sh9.29 trillion) in 2021.
Secretary General Peter Mathuki ascribed the expansion to the entrance of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to the regional bloc.
Total intra-EAC trading increased by 11.2 percent to $10.9 billion in 2022, up from $9.8 billion in 2021.
Mathuki stated in Arusha, EAC headquarters, that the percentage share of intra-EAC trade to overall EAC trade would be 15% in 2022.
According to him, this will be a positive trend in 2023, with 16% of total EAC trade recorded in January and 19% in February.
Non-tariff barriers (NTBs), according to Mathuki, are the key obstacles inhibiting intra-EAC trade growth in the region. He stated that 26 of the 33 NTBs reported as of June 2023 have been resolved.
“To facilitate free movement of goods, Partner States have effectively eliminated Non-Tariff Barriers as they arise and have cumulatively eliminated a significant number of 184 NTBs with only a few remain outstanding,” said Mathuki.
He stated that the adoption of the Single Customs Territory, which is a stopgap solution until the EAC achieves full Custom Union, has resulted in a reduction in turn-around time from an average of 21 days to four days along the EAC corridors.
