Export promotion strategy 2020-2025:
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Date
2019
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East African Community
Abstract
One of the main drivers of economic growth and transformation in the Region has been the Partner States’ export-led strategies and policies. By the mid 1980’s, all Partner States had in place some form of export promotion strategy which contributed to the creation of jobs and supported the transformation of the Region’s productive capacity.
EAC Partner States present very different trade profiles with mixed export performances. In Burundi, Rwanda, and Uganda, exports of goods and services as a percentage gross domestic product (GDP) remains relatively low, at less than 15%, whilst in Kenya and Tanzania exports as a percentage of GDP is about 25%. A long run view of the Region’s export shows an overall upward trend with short run fluctuations linked mainly to the volatility in commodities exports. During the period 2010-2015, the EAC’s trade deficit as a percentage of GDP has hovered between 12.9% to 15.3%, whilst total EAC exports has fluctuated from 30% growth in value terms in 2014, contracting by 17.5% in 2015 and 6.8% in 2016. These figures are far from the targets set by the EAC EPS 2013-2016, which aimed for a 20% p.a. export growth and a reduction of trade deficit to 8% of regional GDP.
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EAC policy
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Citation
East African Community. (2019). Export promotion strategy 2020-2025: export diversification though export consolidation and export discovery. East African Community