The government has been warned to abandon its proposed tariff-free quota for raw cane sugar imports because of its potential to undercut UK growers.

After four years of talks, African leaders announced an agreement to form a 55-nation trade bloc.

Africa is trading - just not within the continent. The African Union wants to change this and launch the world's largest free trade area. The plan has potential, but some member states are keeping the AU in suspense.

Lack of time, an election and regional trade tensions have made agreeing a deal tricky.

But while free trade is under threat in much of the world, African countries are heading in the other direction: the continent is on track to create the largest free trade agreement by population that the world has seen since the 1995 creation of the World Trade Organization.

Back in 1999, under what is known as the Yamoussoukro Decision, African countries planned to free their skies for air travel. Last Sunday the African Union (AU) took its first big step towards this goal, launching the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM).

The launch of the operational phase of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) is expected later this week, while the 15 ECOWAS countries, adopted ‘ECO’ as the name of the region’s planned shared currency, and agreed for a flexible currency regime towards improving integration and trade in the region.

As Britain prepares to leave the European Union, workers in Kenya's flower industry are closely monitoring developments.

As many as 15 countries in West Africa have agreed to adopt a single currency, called ECO, next year.

"The Regulation defines a harmonized legal and tariff framework for roaming on public mobile communication networks within ECOWAS Member States and will solve the problem of high cost of roaming services in the region through the elimination or reduction of call tariffs, SMS charges and data costs, among others."

Fifteen countries in West Africa have agreed to adopt a single currency next year called the eco.

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) entered into force on May 30, 2019, with the first phase of the deal taking effect for 24 countries. An extraordinary summit on the trade agreement is planned for July 7, 2019 in Niamey, Niger, while Phase II negotiations on intellectual property rights (IPRs), investment and competition policy are expected to take at least another year.

The ECOWAS Parliament also requested the authority of heads of state and government to take a firm stand regarding compliance with the 2020 deadline for the establishment of the ECOWAS single currency.

The decision to establish an African Medicines Agency is hailed as a turning point in efforts to advance regulatory oversight but also draws calls for caution. John Zarocostas reports.

As part of its plans to make Africa a more integrated continent, leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have adopted the name 'ECO' for a planned single currency to be used in the region.

A no-deal Brexit would limit access to the EU and entry to markets in Africa could damage profits.

Figures seen by Sky News show how firms are recruiting outside Europe to secure the skills they need, with India in particular providing staff to fill key vacancies.

Kenya and the European Union have signed a long-negotiated trade agreement to increase the flow of goods between the two markets, as Brussels pursues stronger economic ties with Africa.

Hungary will sign a trade and development deal between the European Union and African, Caribbean and Pacific states after it was promised amendments it sought, the Central European country's foreign minister Peter Szijjarto said on Wednesday.

Trade and investment relations with Africa are increasingly important to the European Union’s strategic goals

It’s the second year of business on Africa’s biggest trading platform – the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) - and it isn’t going to be business as usual in the continent’s single biggest trading bloc.