Africa Inter-trade Rises by 15% Under AfCFTA Framework

ACCRA — Intra-African trade has grown by 15.2% over the last 12 months, according to the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The increase, equivalent to $18.4 billion in new trade volume, represents the strongest annual expansion since the trade agreement was signed.

The growth is driven by the Guided Trade Initiative, which has streamlined customs procedures for priority products like cosmetics, tea, tiles, and processed agricultural goods.

David Pilling writes: “For decades, it was cheaper to export cocoa or copper from West Africa to Rotterdam than to ship it to East Africa. High tariffs, diverging product regulations, and land border bottlenecks choked regional integration. While infrastructure deficits remain, the elimination of tariffs on 90% of non-sensitive goods is finally yielding results.”

West Africa and East Africa are recording the highest bilateral trade gains. Kenyan tea shipments to Nigeria have quadrupled, while Ghanaian manufactured building materials are finding major markets in Francophone West Africa.

Despite these gains, logisticians warn that infrastructure gaps limit further growth. Congested shipping ports, poor road links, and high cross-border transport costs mean freight rates within Africa remain the highest globally. AfCFTA officials are pushing for a unified digital payment settlement system (PAPSS) to allow traders to transact in local currencies, bypassing the need for scarce US Dollars.