Ideally, the next round of the Economic Partnerships Agreement was supposed to be signed by October 1 to extend the pact that gives the region duty-free and quota-free access to the EU market. However, only Kenya and Rwanda have signed, with the rest showing little interest. The essence of the agreement is that both the EAC and EU stand to benefit if they traded as blocs rather than individual countries. Given the fact that East Africa is a key producer of horticultural products, with EU remaining the best destination, it has been recognised that the trade pact would be beneficial to all the member states. Horticulture contributes at least 2 per cent of Kenya’s GDP and employs more than two million people, with the EU being the main market.

Source: Daily Nation September 28, 2016 17:03 UTC