Ethiopia Targets Kenya, South Africa in First AfCFTA Exports

Ethiopia will begin trading under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) on Thursday, marking a major milestone seven years after the Horn of Africa nation signed the agreement in Kigali, Rwanda, in 2018.

At a press briefing in Addis Ababa, Yasmin Wohabrebbi, State Minister for Trade and Regional Integration of Ethiopia, announced that Ethiopia’s first AfCFTA-bound exports will head to Kenya, citing logistical convenience, while South Africa and Somalia are expected to follow shortly.

Over 40 exporters have been registered under the AfCFTA framework, although only a select number will participate in the initial phase. “The rest are finalising arrangements with their buyers,” Yasmin told Birrmetrics.

The first exports will include agricultural and manufactured goods such as meat, coffee, fruits and vegetables, beans, edible oil, and textiles.

Ethiopia’s preparations for AfCFTA trading included ratifying eight key protocols covering areas such as investment, competition policy, intellectual property rights, dispute resolution, digitalisation, and the empowerment of women and youth. “The key one is tariff rate adjustments,” Yasmin said, noting that the government aims to gradually reduce tariffs to zero.

Under Ethiopia’s current framework, 90% of goods fall into the liberalised category, 7% are classified as sensitive, and 3% are placed in protected sectors. The country has also finalised its tariff liberalisation schedule, validated its national implementation strategy, and issued Regulation No. 574/2025, which publishes the Provisional Schedule of Tariff Concessions in the Federal Negarit Gazette, the government gazette of Ethiopia.

Yasmin added that Ethiopia joins 24 other African countries that have reached this advanced level of AfCFTA implementation. Beyond Kenya and South Africa, Ethiopia plans to trade on a reciprocal basis with Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, South Sudan, Nigeria, Malawi, Cameroon, and Egypt. Selected services, including telecommunications, are also being prepared for liberalisation in line with AfCFTA provisions.

The AfCFTA aims to create a single African market of 1.4 billion people with a combined GDP of US$3.4 trillion, offering vast opportunities for trade, investment, and regional integration across the continent.

Source: Birrmetrics