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The African Organisation for Standards has said all countries on the continent must harmonise their standards to effectively trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area.

Speaking at the 38th International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) Committee for Conformity Assessment workshop organised by Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS), Dr Hermogene Nsengimana, the African Organisation for Standards secretary general, said if the African Continental Free Trade Area dream is to be achieved, all countries must ensure that their standards are harmonised to reduce duplication.

“We should borrow a leaf from the East African Community where they started harmonising standards. We need to move together if we want to push intra-continental trade,” he said, noting there has been an attempt to harmonise agro-processing, pharmaceuticals, automotive and transport standards at the continental level.

“We have over 1,800 standards. By June 200 would have been harmonised. This will reduce duplication and we are also trying to make standards simple for traders,” he said.

Trade across Africa continues to be disrupted due to variances in product standards and country specifications.

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