The Republic of Madagascar has become the 20th country to sign the Tripartite Free Trade Agreement. The agreement brings together three regional economic communities-COMESA, EAC and SADC- into a single free trade area. The Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) constitutes 57% of Africa’s population with a combined GDP of US$1.3 trillion as of 2015, making it one of the largest free trade areas in the world.

The Tripartite Agreement was signed on Thursday 13th July 2017 by His Excellency Mahafaly Solonandrasana Olivier, Prime Minister of the Republic of Madagascar, on behalf of the Government, in Antananarivo, Madagascar.

The signing ceremony was witnessed by Mr. Sindiso Ngwenya, the Secretary General of COMESA, who represented the Secretary General of the East African Community and the current Chairperson of the Tripartite Task Force, Amb. Liberat Mfumukeko, and the Secretary General of SADC, Dr. Stergomena. Read more. Source | East African Community

General Garment is a textile and apparel company based in Madagascar. The factory was established in October 2012, with the marketing office being managed by CENI as from 2015. The factory is geared towards manufacturing fully knitted product ranges in polyester and cotton such as : T-shirts, Polos, sweaters, knitted jackets, joggers, leggings, and other sportswear, in both adult and children wear divisions. We have been currently delivering to the various parts of the world such as USA, Europe and South Africa under duty free modes. With a dedicated team with more than 20 years in the textile field, we can handle various products from the design, apparel production to delivery.

Website: www.general-garment.com

Seizing AGOA Opportunities in East Africa is a production of the USAID East Africa Trade and Investment Hub (The Hub). It highlights the work of the Hub’s Component 3 – Trade Promotion and AGOA, and briefly describes the legislation AGOA. 

The trifold also outlines the general steps to follow when exporting to the U.S. under AGOA, and provide information on how to engage with the Hub on issues of trade promotion and AGOA.

Rwandan designers Sonia Mugabo and Haute Baso are in Madagascar where they are promoting the Made-in-Rwanda fashion brands, at the annual Origin Africa 2016 Trade Show.

The 7th edition of the continental trade fare started yesterday and ends Saturday at the Forello Centre in Antananarivo (Tana), Madagascar.

Mugabo, 25, is a designer popular for her label SM, which specialises in women and men collection, while Haute Baso is a contemporary Rwandan fashion and accessories brand founded by Candy Basomingera and Linda Mukangoga. Read more. Source | New Times

The Hub’s specialty food team returned to Madagascar this week to further support the promising companies they met in February during its specialty foods mapping exercise, and to prepare those companies for an upcoming Hub-sponsored buyer’s mission starting October 27. Madagascar has a rich supply of spices, vanilla, organic pineapple and passion puree, single pollen honey, organic spices, coffee, and essential oils, all of which could be strong exports for the U.S. specialty foods market, which welcomes more than 40,000 new products every year. 

On September 27, the Hub signed a memorandum of understanding with Madagascar National Investment Promotion Agency to attract trade and investment into Madagascar and the eastern Africa region.  

"Madagascar National Investment Promotion Agency very pleased to partner with the Hub and to work hand in hand to realize technical assistance programs on access to capital. Malagasy companies especially SMEs are in need of this kind of support," said Johari Rajosefa, Director Investor Services Madagascar National Investment Promotion Agency.

AGOA Market Specialty Food Enterprises Mapping Report is a publication of USAID East Africa Trade and Investment Hub. It highlights the U.S. – Africa trade relations and gives the country analysis on specialty food for Kenya, Madagascar and Mauritius.

The report introduces the specialty products, and discusses the U.S. specialty food market highlighting the statistics and facts. It also details the general requirements for food import into the U.S.; gender based buying trends, and the potential market connections available for women from AGOA eligible countries.

The publication further gives the current exports details from Africa to the U.S., outlining the potential products to be exported to the U.S.

The report is a useful resource in the identification of sectors with export potential to U.S. in selected Sub-Sahara African countries.

Rural area is key to sustainable development in Madagascar, local authorities said when they opened the 18th edition of the International Fair for Rural Economy of Madagascar on Wednesday.

"Malagasy farmers’ products are not only for their consumption but also for the international market, which needs training for the quality of their products," Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Rivo Rakotovao said in his opening speech.

"We’ll do our best effort to let Madagascar independent in food, especially in rice," the minister said, adding that his department will professionalize farmers to respect standards in international markets.

The fair is an annual exchange platform between agriculture, livestock, fishing and handicraft producers from the 22 regions of Madagascar; public and private service providers for rural development as well as technical and financial partners for the promotion of rural activities. Read more. Source | Coast Week

Origin Africa, both an international trade fair on textile and clothing and an ongoing effort dedicated to improving African Cotton, Textile and Apparel trade which is all set to be held in Madagascar in November. This is the first time for Madagascar to host this international event, said the Executive Director of Madagascar Export Processing Zone Association, Eva Razafimandimby during a press conference held in Madagascar’s capital Antananarivo on Monday.

This fair will be the engine for the revival of Madagascar’s textile which has been doubly affected by the global financial and economic crisis of 2008 and the suspension of the country’s eligibility from the U.S. African Growth Opportunity Acts (AGOA) in January 2010, Razafimandimby added.

Amid the political crisis in Madagascar in 2009, the United States suspended from 2010 to 2014 Madagascar’s eligibility to AGOA, a program allowing African countries to export their textile products without tax to the United States. Due to the suspension of AGOA, hundreds of thousands jobs were lost, making the country among the poorest countries in the world. Read more. Source | YNFX

The Independent Development Corporation (IDC) says it has invested about R12 billion in the textile and clothing industry in 2015. The IDC is one of the exhibitors at Source Africa - the annual pan-African textile, clothing and footwear trade event that brings together manufacturers, buyers, suppliers and service providers from across the continent, Asia and even the United States of America,currently taking place in Cape Town. 

In 2016 the trade show has more of an international flavour with exhibitors from China and the USA. An exhibitor from USAID, Finn Holm-Olsen, says investment into Africa keeps expanding.

The Trade Promotion and AGOA Director, East Africa Trade and Investment Hub , Mr. Finn Holm-Olsen said,

Four or five years ago it was really a struggle to get buyers to come to Africa. That is not a problem anymore - they are coming in droves

 Read more. Source | SABC