Rwanda on Wednesday marked a historic moment by exporting agricultural products to Ghana for the first time under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement.
Imports include traditional exports such as coffee and tea, as well as honey and avocado products, reflecting the diversity of Rwanda’s export data under the African Continental Free Trade Area.
The consignment transported by national carrier RwandAir comprises 400 kilos of tea, 400 kilos of coffee, 100 litres of edible avocado oil, and 50 litres of honey.
The flag-raising ceremony was held at Kigali International Airport and was organised by Rwanda’s Ministry of Trade and Industry in collaboration with local businesses. The event highlights Rwanda’s growing partnership with the African Continental Free Trade Area, an initiative to promote intra-Africa trade and economic development.
While Rwanda exported its initial agricultural consignment – from Igire Coffee Limited – to Ghana in 2022, marking the formal start of preferential trading under the AfCFTA agreement, the first shipment consisted of coffee alone.
Speaking at the event, Rwanda’s Minister of Trade and Industry, Prudence Sebahizi, hailed the initiative as significant. He stressed the importance of cooperation among stakeholders, especially young entrepreneurs, and encouraged them to seize new opportunities in the African Continental Free Trade Area and expand their resource exports.
“This initiative will accelerate Rwanda’s continental trade by enabling local businesses to combine their goods into a single consignment, optimizing logistics and reducing costs,” he added.
The African Continental Free Trade Area is one of the main programmes of the African Union Agenda 2063, intending to promote intra-African trade and strengthen Africa’s position in the global economy. The agreement began in 2019 and began operating in January 2021.
