rwanda national export strategy - minicom

RWANDA NATIONAL EXPORT STRATEGY
with rising roasted coffee sales at close to a median US$10 per 250 gram packet, China could be an
attractive export market for Rwandan coffee. A joint venture with a Chinese counterpart to import,
process, market and distribute Rwanda Coffee on the Chinese market could allow estimated gross
earnings of between US$5.7 and US$9.6 per kilogram.
Issue #3 Foreign policy and commercial interests need to be aligned. Improved coordination is
needed between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the
PSF and the RDB. The placement of Rwandan Missions abroad should be closely aligned with Rwanda‘s
trade policy and its investment and export promotion strategies. Rwandan Missions could be more
effectively leveraged for market development and access, as well as promoting priority sectors and
products. This can be done through securing buyer contacts, cold calling, market research, and product
show casing. Rwandan missions abroad can also play a key role in helping Rwanda‘s businesses source
appropriate technologies, and identifying new market opportunities for Rwandan exporters.
4.2.2 TRADE FACILITATION & PROMOTION
Trading Across Borders, as identified by the World Bank‘s Doing Business report, remains a difficult
issue for Rwanda, ranking 159 th of 183 countries surveyed. 22 The criteria and Rwanda‘s performance
provide an assessment of Rwanda‘s challenges:
Figure 3: World Bank’s Doing Business Survey – Trading Across Borders Best Practices
Good
Practice
Economies
Documents
to export
(number)
Time to
export (days)
Cost to
export
(US$ per
container)
Documents
to import
(number)
Time to
import
(days)
Cost to
import
(US$ per
container)
Denmark 4 5 $744 3 5 $744
France 2 9 $1,078 2 11 $1,248
Malaysia 7 18 $450 7 14 $450
Singapore 4 5 $456 4 4 $439
Switzerland 4 8 $1,537 5 9 1,540
OECD 4.4 10.9 $1,059 4.9 11.4 1,106
Botswana 6 28 3,010 9 41 3,390
Sub-Saharan
Africa
7.7 32.3 $1,962 8.7 38.2 $2,492
Rwanda 8 35 $3275 8 34 $4990
The table above compares Rwanda‘s performance in each indicator to the international best performers in
each class, as opposed to the performance of its neighbours. It should be noted however that Rwanda will
almost certainly always be at a relative disadvantage in terms of transport costs, due to its land-locked
position and associated distance to sea ports. The table also compares Rwanda‘s performance with other
land-locked countries such as Switzerland and Botswana, which rank 43 rd and 151 st on the trading across
borders indicator. The GoR therefore needs to provide assistance to enable Rwandan exporters to compete
more favourably in the global and regional market. An important component of this assistance will
include targeting cross-border trade with DR Congo and Burundi as well as other neighbouring countries.
The activities identified under trade facilitation and promotion aim at making exporting easier for the
Rwandans. This goes beyond addressing border measures and may involve initiatives such as providing
22 Data from World Bank‘s Doing Business 2011 Report. It is important to note that the methodology for this metric does not measure the
requirements to trade with one‘s regional neighbours but rather the, ―requirements for exporting and importing a standardized cargo of goods by
ocean transport‖, thus Rwanda is at a comparative disadvantage in terms of the ranking methodology, in that unlike the rest of the countries listed,
it does not have sea access.
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