The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) will facilitate the opening of the Ghana Trade House in Kenya this month as part of strategies to deepen trade between African countries.

Opening the house in Nairobi is also expected to foster a robust partnership between the two countries who are among the first countries that started to ship AfCFTA-certified products in 2022.

“The objective of the Ghana Trade Expo is to create a significant synergy and boost awareness of Ghanaian products in Africa through the Kenyan event in May 2023, followed by subsequent expeditions in Egypt in August,” says AfCFTA national coordinator Fareed Kwesi Arthur.

The deal will be conducted during Ghana Trade Expo between May 23 – 27 at the Sarit Centre where matchmaking sessions, exhibitions, seminars, and networking activities will take place.

Adopted in 2018 as the world’s largest single market, AfCFTA aims to revitalise the trade narrative between Africans by ramping up market access but this was delayed until last year.

Pilot stage

Kenya exported locally made Exide batteries to Ghana last year during the pilot stage of the AfCFTA deal but has also identified other products such as tea, fresh produce, confectionery, leather bags and textiles, beaded products, and vehicular filters among others.

Ghana’s top exports over the years have been cocoa, gold and oil with its top markets being China, Switzerland, India, South Africa, the Netherlands, and the United Arab Emirates.

The value of Kenya’s export to Ghana increased to Sh1.4 billion in 2022, according to the latest economic survey. The rising trade ties between Kenya and Ghana come on the back of a decline in the East African market for Kenyan products, with neighbouring Uganda and Tanzania always caught in trade and tax disputes with Kenya.