The East African Community (EAC) recorded robust growth in international merchandise trade in the second quarter of 2025, highlighting the region’s economic resilience and growing competitiveness in global markets, according to the latest EAC Quarterly Statistics Bulletin released Monday.
Total trade for the eight-member bloc rose by 28.4 percent to 38.2 billion U.S. dollars, up from 29.7 billion dollars in the same quarter last year, said the bulletin.
The growth was driven mainly by exports, which surged by 40.5 percent to 18.6 billion dollars amid rising global demand for East African products. Imports grew by 18.8 percent to 19.6 billion dollars, sharply narrowing the trade deficit from 3.2 billion dollars to just 0.9 billion dollars.
Trade with other African nations expanded significantly by 42.9 percent to 9.3 billion dollars, accounting for nearly a quarter of the region’s total trade, while intra-EAC trade rose 24.5 percent to 4.6 billion dollars, representing 12.1 percent of the bloc’s total.
Deepened ties with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa and the Southern African Development Community contributed 9.9 percent and 15.2 percent, respectively, to the region’s trade, it said.
China, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, and Singapore remained the top destinations for EAC exports, while China retained its position as the leading source.
It said that copper, precious stones and metals, coffee and tea, mineral fuels, and ores accounted for nearly 80 percent of total exports, whereas petroleum products, machinery, vehicles, precious metals, plastics, and iron and steel dominated import categories.
Despite the positive trade performance, inflation remained high, with the annual headline rate in the bloc standing at 22.7 percent in June 2025, down slightly from 24 percent in May but well above 13.7 percent a year earlier, largely due to price surges in South Sudan and Burundi.
XINHUA