Comesa trade reaches US$7.3bn mark

ALAN PEAT
WHILE THE Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) has not met with universal acclaim in the region’s business world, it has boosted trade between the member states, according to Chungu Mwila, Zambia’s director of investment promotion and private sector development. He told the Times of Zambia that intra-Comesa trade reached the US$7.3-billion mark last year. He added that the growth rate for Comesa trade for last year was exceptional and that the free trade area (FTA) was beginning to contribute significantly to the growth.