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With continued pressure on the currency expected through year-end 2025, the outlook for dollar-denominated exports remains bleak.
Kenya and Iran have given themselves 60 days to resolve a tea export dispute sparked by a quality-fraud scandal that strained diplomatic and commercial ties.
According to Akobo’s disclosure, ETI has acquired 7.4% stake in its shares, amid lingering debt facility.
The discussions come as South Africa battles with the fallouts of a sweeping 30% tariff on all its US-bound goods — the highest rate imposed on any African nation under Trump’s new trade regime.
The move comes amid mounting losses for South Africa’s auto sector, with local manufacturers bearing the brunt of Trump’s trade policies as multimillion-dollar export contracts vanish.
Under the revised trade order, the 15% rate applies to countries with which the US runs a trade deficit, while nations with a trade surplus, by contrast, will face a lower 10% rate.
Despite receiving the sharpest cut in the new round of tariffs, Lesotho’s textiles industry, which has relied heavily on duty-free access under the US’ Africa Growth and Opportunity Act, continues to reel from months of uncertainty.
Despite enduring one of the highest inflation rates on the continent, Nigeria recorded the largest retail market growth in Africa in 2024, with modern retail sales surging by 30.4% to $13.2bn, according to new data from Euromonitor International.
Under the new regime, South Africa, Algeria and Libya are the worst hit, while Lesotho secures the largest cut, with tariffs slashed from 50% to 15% amid mounting trade pressure.
Three weeks after the expiration of the US tariff grace period, African countries are already feeling the strain—with Lesotho declaring a state of disaster and South Africa facing job losses in the hundreds of thousands.
A US tariff on processed coffee threatens Ethiopia’s push to move up the value chain, even as the country posts record export earnings, targets new markets across Asia and the Middle East.
The projection comes at a time when South Africa is grappling with one of the world’s highest unemployment rates. Official figures show joblessness at 32.9% in the first quarter of the year, and at 43.1% under the expanded definition.
Aliko Dangote is making a high-stakes bet on fertiliser to help Africa reclaim control of its food systems, with an ambitious target of no imports for 40 months.
AfDB has approved a $50 million Trade Finance Transaction Guarantee Facility for Awash Bank, one of Ethiopia’s largest private lenders, as part of its ongoing efforts to expand access to trade finance for SMEs and local corporates.
The UK is the second major economy, after China, to move to deepen trade ties with African nations amid a global trade war sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs announced on April 1.
As a fallback plan, Pretoria is willing to accept a maximum tariff of 10% if exemptions are not granted, its trade ministry revealed.
According to the World Bank, the AfCFTA has the potential of becoming the world’s largest trade area, connecting 1.3 billion people across 54 countries into a single market valued at $3.4 trillion. But progress remains slow due to uneven implementation.
East African powerhouse, Ethiopia, has reportedly recorded a historic increase in coffee export amounting to over $1.8 billion.