World Bank sees Uganda-Kenya trade spat hurting EAC

The World Bank has warned that the trade dispute between Kenya and Uganda could affect the smooth progression of economic pacts within the East African Community. The two countries have been locked in a trade dispute since December 2019, stemming from Kenya’s decision to restrict milk imports from Uganda. World Bank notes that this dispute does not augur well with the recently established African Continental Free Trade Area, pointing out that failure to find out a lasting solution to this restrictive non-tariff barrier would likely stall any major private investment in the dairy sector within the next few years. “Such disputes within the EAC, an established and relatively successful economic bloc, hailed as one of the most successful on the continent, risks jeopardising all other trade pacts within the community,” said World Bank in its 2021 country diagnostic report. Kenya has been planning to visit Uganda to ascertain that all the milk that comes from there is produced by local ...