(DTIS) Update, Volume 1 – Main report - Enhanced Integrated ...

ExportsImports(%)Share2001/03Share2008/10CAGR2001-2010Share2001/03Share2008/10CAGR2001-2010EAC10.9 13.6 9.8 29.6 26 17.3of which:Kenya 3.6 3.2 3.6 15.9 9.1 11.4Rwanda 5.4 5.6 12.1 0.6 1.1 25.8Tanzania 0.8 1.6 4.8 9 5.4 13.6Uganda 1.1 3.1 19.9 4.1 10.4 34COMESA 12.2 19.5 14.5 25.5 27.4 21.5COMESA non-EAC 1.3 5.9 47 4.9 6.7 26.9of which :DRC 1.2 3.9 44.4Egypt 0.2 2.7 65.5Zambia 3 3.5 30.8World 100 100 9.3 100 100 15.5Source: authors' calculations based on UnctadStat dataBurundi’s trade with the COMESA region has significantly increased over the decade, but itmostly concerns the countries that are also part of the EAC, and only few non-EAC countries. In2008-2010, around 20% of Burundi’s exports went to COMESA countries on average, including around6% to non-EAC COMESA countries (table 1.3). The share of imports from (both EAC and non-EAC)COMESA countries slightly increased. In recent years, the DRC has emerged as Burundi’s main non-EAC COMESA trading partner for its exports (4% of total exports), while Zambia and Egypt were themain non-EAC COMESA sources of imports (together about 6% of total imports).Box 1.1: Estimating the magnitude of informal cross-border trade in the Great Lakes regionAlthough detailed data on Burundi’s informal trade is not readily available, existing region-wideevidence suggests that informal cross-border trade (CBT) between countries of the EAC, as well as withother neighboring economies such as eastern DRC, is significant.Estimates in World Bank (2012a) suggest that informal trade in agricultural products may be as much asfive times higher than recorded trade for the DRC’s trade with neighbors in the Great Lakes region,including Burundi. According to the same source, Rwanda’s and Uganda’s informal trade with theregion represented around 25% and 55% of their formal trade, respectively. A recent study prepared forthe government of Rwanda shows that this country exports more informally to its neighbors than itexports formally, and that informal CBT (mainly with the DRC, but also with Burundi) is growing.The informal cross-border trade survey conducted by the Rwandan authorities over a 12-month period(May 2009 – April 2010) provides specific data on informal trade between Rwanda and Burundi:- informal imports from Burundi reached 3.7 billion Rwandan francs (around US$ 6.2 million),representing 30% of Rwanda’s informal imports during this period.- informal exports to Burundi reached 3.8 billion Rwandan francs (around US$ 6.4 million),representing 14% of Rwanda’s informal exports during this period.Although the periods do not perfectly match, these figures can be compared to formal flows registered inComtrade, in which Rwanda reported US$ 3.3 million of imports from Burundi in 2009, and BurundiUS$ 1.8 million of imports from Rwanda the same year. More data would be required to establishgeneral estimates, but this initial comparison suggests that Burundi’s informal exports to Rwanda couldbe around twice as large as its formal exports recorded in official trade statistics. This confirms that23 / 153