Kenya exports tea to Ghana in first AfCFTA trading deal

Kenya has commenced tea exportation to Ghana under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement.

Kenyan President William Ruto, on Wednesday, flagged off the inaugural consignment of tea to Ghana.

AfCFTA is a free-trade area agreement signed by most African countries.

It is a flagship project of the African Union’s agenda 2063.

The agreement aims at creating “a single market for goods, services, facilitated by movement of persons to deepen the economic integration of the African continent.”

Ruto said Kenya was determined to generate revenue by selling its quality tea to other African countries.

“Kenya is strongly committed to exploiting the full potential of value addition and unlocking the opportunities available within the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) framework,” Ruto said in a tweet.

“We will take decisive action to enhance the diversification of our economy to unleash the full force of our manufacturing sector for our farmers to benefit from better prices. Flagged off value-added tea to Accra, Ghana.”

Kenya is strongly committed to exploiting the full potential of value addition and unlocking the opportunities available within the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) framework. pic.twitter.com/b6aN2yrnNJ

— William Samoei Ruto, PhD (@WilliamsRuto) October 5, 2022

The Kenyan president said it is time for Africa to occupy its rightful place in trade, business and investment.

He further encouraged the private sector to leverage the opportunities under the AfCFTA and join Ghana and Kenya on the journey to boosting African economies.

“There is no reason why people in the African continent buy tea from other markets when we have our own very high-quality tea that we can provide to them at the same price,” Ruto said.

“We must have a Kenyan-branded product in tea. This is so that we can be selling our tea.”

Kenya is one of the eight countries selected to participate in the pilot phase of the AfCFTA guide trade initiative.

The other African nations selected for the initiative are Egypt, Ghana, Rwanda, Tanzania, Tunisia, Cameroon and Mauritius.

According to the African Union, these countries are those who have submitted their schedule of tariff concessions and have demonstrated advanced processes on the ground rendering these countries relatively more prepared to trade under AfCFTA.

On the financial front, Nigeria also emerged as the first country in Africa to record successful transactions through the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS).

The PAPSS was created to promote the AfCFTA.

According to Thisday, the first transaction occurred between the Ghana Commercial Bank and First Bank of Nigeria Plc through the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS).