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Policy Program > Highlights

COMESA Ministers Agree to Ease Border Trade

Ministers of Trade of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), have agreed to fast-track the implementation of a simplified system of documentation and border procedures to facilitate agricultural trade in the region.

At the recent COMESA Business Summit and Exhibition held in Kigali, Rwanda on May 30-31, the attending Ministers agreed to use what is known as the "Simplified COMESA Trade Regime" starting with maize, rice, beans and traditional food crops such as cassava as well as cotton and dairy products. Eleven of the 19 member countries of COMESA belong to the Free Trade Area (FTA). This area entails duty and quota free access to trade across their borders provided such products meet the rules of origin criteria under which goods should either be wholly produced within the region or have 35% value addition. However, procedures and non-tariff barriers continue to frustrate this trade notwithstanding the huge potential that exists for intra-regional trade within the region.

Under the simplified system, consignments of US$500 or below which are produced in the region will be exempt from the normal requirements of meeting the criteria for rules of origin but instead use a simplified "certificate of origin" and "customs document". This should be welcome news for cross-border traders who stand to benefit from this new regime which should significantly increase trade. The Regional Agricultural Trade Expansion Support (RATES) program is assisting COMESA to implement this new system.