Private sector interests in East African Community (EAC) zone are calling for speedy admission of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the bloc as its membership would bring large trade benefits.
Dr Peter Mathuki, Executive Director of the East African Business Council (EABC) said here yesterday that admitting DRC into the EAC is a vital need at present, with countries across the world “joining hands to create strong economic unions.”
In June 2019, the DRC applied for admission to join EAC, given the fact that the country shares borders with five EAC partner states, all except Kenya, which all the same is an important trading partner as goods for north eastern DRC often pass through the port of Mombasa.
EAC total trade exchange with the DRC is significantly low, on the basis of a recently launched report.
The council in collaboration with the German foreign assistance agency, GIZ in its “creating perspectives” project has recently unveiled a study on opportunities for trade in the DRC for small and medium enterprises in the EAC region.
The report affirms that the total value of DRC imports in 2019 stood at $6.6bn. However, EAC exports to the DRC in 2018 stood at $855.4m, representing 11.5 percent of total DRC imports. The values of EAC partner states’ exports to DRC in 2018 were Rwanda at $337.4m, Uganda - $204.3m, Kenya- $149.8m, Tanzania- $144.9m and Burundi at $18.9m.
China is the top exporter to DRC with a commanding share of 31.2 percent, followed by South Africa at 15.8 percent and Zambia, 13 percent.
At the launch, Dr Mathuki urged EAC partner states to fast-track the admission of DRC into the regional bloc as it sources elsewhere for goods that the EAC can ably supply.
“DRC will benefit from the common market and common external tariff framework, having more integrated access to sea ports of Mombasa and Dar es Salaam, while its 81m population is a vast market for SMEs in the EAC region to tap into its potential,, he elaborated.
Non-tariff barriers in DRC have hampered business initiatives by EAC entrepreneurs, translating into high cost of doing business in that country, he elaborated.
“EABC being the apex body for the private sector in the region has a critical role in advocating ease of doing business in DRC. It will in turn lower costs of doing business, make DRC competitive in attracting capital,” he said, noting that this is especially relevant “as we prepare to join the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).”
The study asserts that there is a large market for EAC partner states SMEs in various sectors especially in textile clusters, for clothes made from cotton. SMEs handling processed foodstuffs such as raw cane sugar and sugar confectionery, food preparation such as tomato sauce, vinegar and baking soda were also in a good position in the DRC market, as well as those handling plastic and rubber, the statement added.
