Demands for Uganda to join COMESA.(Commercial Review)

UGANDAN MANUFACTURERS SUCH as the Mukwano Group and Southern Range Nyanza Ltd (SRNL) amongst others, argue that Uganda's joining of the COMESA FTA would widen the country's opportunities for its manufactured goods. The CEO of Mukwano Group of Companies, Ibnul Hassan Rizvi, insists that Ugandan exporters need to have the opportunity of freely entering Rwanda, Burundi, Sudan and other COMESA markets. According to him, countries that signed the FTA pact are out-competing them. "Uganda's textile export competitiveness in the hitherto natural export markets within COMESA has been watered down since Kenya, the East African manufacturing giant, can easily out compete Ugandan textile …