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European Union – East African Community Market Access Upgrade Programme (MARKUP) and its positive impact on Agri-export trade in the East African Community (EAC). The campaign aims to raise awareness among small and medium-sized firms, farmers’ cooperatives, and government organizations in the EAC about the potential opportunities in Agri-export trade.

The EU-EAC Market Access Upgrade Programme (MARKUP) has enabled new prospects for agri-export trade, and the East African Community (EAC) has begun raising awareness of these potential.

Small and medium-sized firms (SMEs) in the agricultural value chain, farmers’ co-operations, and government organisations in the EAC will all have access to information and resources on agri-export trade through the campaign.

Flavia Busingye, the acting director of customs at the EAC Secretariat, said MARKUP opened up a lot of trade prospects for agri-SMEs in the area when she spoke at the campaign’s launch.

“The campaign ‘MARKUP: Growing agri-export markets’ aims to raise awareness of the opportunities in agricultural trade, and to demonstrate that international markets are within reach for East African exporters,” stated Busingye.

Busingye claimed that since MARKUP’s launch in 2018, resources for the expansion of agri-exports had been produced in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and Tanzania, the five EAC Partner States. The EAC Quality Portal, the Financing Gateway, and the Burundi Trade Information Portal, among other resources, were created as a result of the programme, which was a joint initiative of the EAC, the EU, the German government, and other development partners.

She added that the EAC-EU initiative also produced market studies, useful manuals and handbooks, as well as policy briefs, and that “MARKUP has contributed to stronger quality infrastructure in the region, including harmonisation of standards and frameworks for intra-regional trade in food products.”

She urged people to actively participate in the campaign via the various platforms and channels. She claimed that SMEs in the agricultural industry suffer a variety of obstacles when trying to trade inside the EAC region. She mentioned obstacles like weak connectivity, lengthy and occasionally expensive customs procedures, and lack of access to market information, including about standards and quality criteria.

“When it comes to gaining access to markets beyond the EAC, the scope and effect of these hurdles increase tremendously. This is one of the reasons the EAC Secretariat collaborated with the EU to define and implement MARKUP,” according to the speaker.

The International Trade Centre, United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, Uganda Coffee Development Authority, Solidaridad East Africa, Oxfam, and the Institute for University Co-operation are all participating in the GIZ-led scheme. The MARKUP campaign is being launched as the majority of the program’s operations are coming to an end, according to Max Middeke, Deputy Programme Manager at German Development Cooperation (GIZ) – EAC Programme.