ARUSHA (Tanzania), Aug 8 (NNN-DAILYNEWS) — THE East African Community (EAC) recorded a trade surplus of 0.8 billion US dollars (about 1.98tri/-) in the first quarter of 2025, compared to a trade deficit of 4.0 billion US dollars (about 9.9tri/-) during the same period in 2024.
According to information posted on the EAC Secretariat website, this significant shift is linked to strong export performance, improved trade within the African continent and growing competitiveness across Partner States.
The EAC Quarterly Statistics Bulletin for the period of January to March 2025 shows that total exports increased by 47.3 per cent to 17.7 billion US dollars (about 43.89tri/-), while imports rose modestly by 4.6 per cent to 16.8 billion US dollars (41.6tri/-).
The bulletin further notes that domestic exports grew by 48.1 per cent and re-exports rose by 32.4 per cent, reflecting a rise in locally produced and value-added goods.
“Intra-African trade contributed significantly to this outcome,” reads the bulletin.
“Trade within the continent grew by 53.9 per cent to 9.5 billion US dollars (23.6tri/-), now accounting for 27.5 per cent of total EAC trade. Intra-EAC trade alone rose by 53.6 per cent to 5.2 billion US dollars (about 12.9tri/-), underscoring progress made in regional integration and the removal of trade barriers.”
China retained its position as the EAC’s largest trading partner during the quarter, followed by the United Arab Emirates, India, South Africa and Japan.
For the first time in recent reporting periods, the region recorded a trade surplus of 1.8 billion US dollars (about 4.5tri/-) with China.
This was driven by a notable increase in exports to the Chinese market and a slight decline in imports.
Other key export destinations included South Africa, Hong Kong and Singapore, while imports were largely dominated by petroleum products, vehicles, machinery and plastics.
The bulletin highlights that trade activity continued to be concentrated in a few key sectors. Base metals, minerals, agricultural goods, precious stones and machinery together accounted for more than half of the region’s total trade value.
The bulletin also shows that inflation remains a key challenge. Annual headline inflation in the EAC region, as measured by the Harmonised Consumer Price Index (EAC-HCPI), stood at 27.0 per cent in March 2025, down from 30.6 per cent in February. In comparison, the rate was 6.7 per cent in March 2024.
Month-on-month headline inflation was 0.2 per cent in March, compared to minus 0.5 per cent in February 2025.
“The annual average headline inflation for the 2024 calendar year stood at 13.5 per cent, up from 6.3 per cent in 2023,” states the bulletin.
This was largely driven by high inflation levels in South Sudan and Burundi, which stood at 99.9 per cent and 20.8 per cent respectively.
Core inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, stood at 28.9 per cent in March 2025, while food inflation was recorded at 49.4 per cent for the month of March 2025 down from 55.6 per cent registered in February 2025. Energy and utility inflation remained relatively stable at 3.3 per cent.
On monetary conditions, the bulletin notes that broad money supply grew by 10.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2025, signalling a more liquid financial environment across partner states.
This growth was largely supported by a 21.1 per cent increase in net credit to government, pointing to continued fiscal expansion and public sector financing.
Credit to the private sector also rose by 5.5 per cent, indicating a gradual recovery in private sector activity.
Additionally, net foreign assets increased by 18.1 per cent, supported by stronger external inflows, including remittances.
“The distribution of credit across sectors showed mixed but generally positive trends,” says the bulletin.
Agricultural credit rose by 6.6 per cent, reflecting support to food systems and agroprocessing.
Lending to construction and real estate grew by 17.5 per cent and 4.8 per cent respectively, while credit to wholesale and retail trade increased by 9.6 per cent. The manufacturing sector, however, registered only marginal credit growth of 0.5 per cent.
The household sector remained the region’s largest borrower, with outstanding loans of 13.8 billion US dollars (about 34.1tri/-), followed by the wholesale and retail trade sector at 7.9 billion US dollars (about 19.6tri/-). — NNN-DAILYNEWS
