Uganda lies at the heart of East Africa and the Horn of Africa, sharing borders with Kenya, Tanzania, South Sudan, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo; which gives it a unique location advantage for regional trade and investment.
Within Africa, Uganda in 2020 exported extensively to Kenya ($409 m), Congo ($234m) and increasingly to Tanzania ($83m), Sudan ($79m) and Burundi ($51m). Uganda’s agricultural products (maize, fish, milk etc.) are consumed extensively in the East Africa region.
Uganda is a signatory to the following treaties which not only create markets for goods and services but also give an opportunity to develop.
EAC - Non Tariff Barriers; Article 13 of the Protocol on the Establishment of the East African Community Customs Union enjoins the Partner States to eliminate existing Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) and not introduce new ones. The East African Community with 6 member states has a population of 445 million people.
COMESA - COMESA is the leading export destination Uganda’s exports to COMESA were USD 600.9 m in 2019. Exports are mainly coffee, tea, spices and others. COMESA comprises 21 member states with a population of 583 million.
Uganda is also negotiating the EAC-COMESA-SADC Tripartite with a Free Trade Area (FTA) Agreement launched in June 2015. The Tripartite FTA provides for an integrated market of a combined population of 632 million people which is 57% of Africa’s population of 1.2 billion people. The agreement provides expanded trade opportunities to Uganda’s Private Sector and the products for export include agricultural products, sugar, tea, coffee, and livestock products.