Rwanda's plan to increase AGOA exports
AGOA holds promise that Rwanda can bring down its ballooning import bill, but low production and fierce competition coupled with logistics challenges remain a major impediment.
To deal with the challenges, Rwanda will introduce policy, technological and institutional innovations, said Minister of Trade, Industry and East African Affairs Francois Kanimba.
However, reports indicate that exports to the US remain low, forcing US retailers to source from countries that supply large volumes.
Combined, data from the National Bank of Rwanda shows that between January and June, the country spent Rwf80 billion ($98.3 million) on importation of cement, rice wheat and sugar.
Export data from USAid shows that the country earned $187,000 in 2014 from exports to the US and $435,000 in 2015, largely from apparel and macadamia exports.
In the EAC, Kenya is the biggest beneficiary of the AGOA free market access, bagging $433 million from apparel exports.
- Download Rwanda's AGOA Strategy in the AGOA.info document archive