NAIROBI, Feb 23 (NNN-KBC) — Eighteen countries have so far ratified the African Continental Free Trade Agreement with others in the process of ratifying it.
Kenya’s Trade Principal Secretary Dr. Chris Kiptoo says 22 countries are required to ratify the African Continental Free Trade Area to make it effective.
Dr. Kiptoo says the coming into force of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement would expand Kenya’s export market that is currently dominated by EAC, which accounts for 20 percent of Kenya’s exports.
The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the East African Community are key markets for Kenyan products.
Even though the volume of Kenyan products being sold in the East African Community has been reducing, the bloc remains a key export market for Kenya.
The market for Kenyan products is set to expand when the African Continental Free Trade Agreement deal comes into force.
If effected, African Continental Free Trade Agreement is projected to be the largest free trade area in the world with a continental market of 1.2 billion people and a combined gross domestic product of more than 3.4 trillion dollars.
So far, 52 out of the 55 countries in Africa have signed up for the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, with a number of them ratifying the deal. — NNN-KBC