National

Research group reports low level of market concentration in SA agriculture (Engineering News)

In a recent brief report, the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP) pointed out that, according to the available data, the agricultural sector was one of the South African economy’s least concentrated sectors. And while agro-processing was much more concentrated than agriculture itself, it was still far from being one of the most concentrated sectors of the economy.

Kenyan exports to bloc rise by $160m but Uganda remain tops (TheEastAfrican)

Kenya’s exports to the East African Community increased from Ksh140.4 billion ($1.28 billion) in 2019 to Ksh158.3 billion ($1.44 billion) in 2020. The growth was witnessed despite a contraction of the East African Community real GDP by 0.2 percent in 2020 from a growth of 6.2 percent in 2019.

Dar Scales Up Trade with East African Community (EAC), Southern African Development Community (SADC) (PulseNigeria)

The Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF) said there has been an increase in trade between Tanzania and the countries in the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region since the sixth-phase government entered into power. TPSF Chairperson, Ms. Angelina Ngalula made the remarks when she met with the Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation Minister, Ambassador Liberata Mulamulain Dar es Salaam yesterday.

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Africa

AfCFTA secretariat signs landmark agreement with UK government (GhanaWeb)

Wamkele Mene, AfCFTA Secretary-General The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)with the United Kingdom (UK) government to formalise shared commitment to the success of the agreement.

AfCFTA to boost Eastern African textile – clothing exports (NewsGhana)

The East African regional business and private sector watchdog said on Friday the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is set to boost Eastern Africa’s textile and clothing exports by 100 percent.

Leveraging AfCFTA - ECA, ABCHealth Partner to Increase Access to Health Commodities (AllAfrica)

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the African Business Coalition for Health (ABCHealth) and National Institutes of Health (NIH), have concluded arrangement to host Africa Investment summit that will help Nigerians have access to vital health commodities and supplies.

UN launches Africa's online data platform of sustainable development (CGTN)

The new data engine also gives users the ability to classify the statistics by various dimensions, such as the eight regional economic communities recognized by AU, least developed countries, landlocked developing nations, and oil-producing, mineral-rich states.

Future of African carriers lies on ‘unity’ model (TheEastAfrican)

The workshop held under the theme Leveraging Airline Consolidation for Air Transport Industry Sustainability was attended by over 200 airline representatives — CEOs, representatives from airports, Civil Aviation Authorities, aviation decision makers and industry players — who called for uniform implementation of harmonised regulations and the establishment of an enabling working relationship between regulators, airlines and regional economic communities.

Africa needs effective functioning of RECs to achieve desired outcomes of AfCFTA (GhanaWeb)

Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia says Africa needs the effective functioning of the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) if the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is to achieve the desired outcomes.

Co-operation the key to achieving Africa's ideals, say participants in intra-Africa business conference (AfricaNews)

The 2021 Shaping a World of Trust virtual business conversation, hosted by Bureau Veritas emphasized the need for collaboration between government, companies and customers if Africa was to meet sustainability goals, ensure food safety, protect against cybersecurity and improve intra-Africa trade.

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International 

UK government announces digital trade strategy (ComputerWeekly)

The UK government has announced a five-point digital strategy aimed at improving international digital trade for businesses and consumers and future-proofing the sector.

China Appeals WTO Ruling Over Trump Era's Solar-Panel Tariffs (Bloomberg)

China appealed a World Trade Organization dispute ruling that rejected the nation’s claims against the U.S. Earlier this month, a WTO panel said China failed to establish that Washington’s safeguards against imports of certain crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells are inconsistent with the WTO’s rules on the measures.

What are the prospects of global economy? (CGTN)

A new report released by the UN Conference on Trade and Development predicts a bounce-back of the global economy this year with 5.3% growth, the fastest in nearly 50 years. But the promising figure also reveals an unbalanced recovery among countries according to income and geographical location. What plans are in place to address these global inequalities? And how can we best prepare for an

High Trade Costs: Causes and Remedies (WorldBankGroup)

Mari Pangestu, World Bank Managing Director of Development Policy and Partnerships, is joined by experts from the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the private sector to discuss the current state of trade, the magnitude of trade costs, as well as the main determinants and policies which could lower them.

International trade and domestic social divides: A new vision for trade (World Economic Forum)

Businesses and civil society organizations have an opportunity to voice support for government action through the World Trade Organization on these issues in the runup to the 12th Ministerial Conference .