Record intra-African trade volumes are colliding with slow policy execution, uneven infrastructure, and delayed alignment on customs and tariffs.
Intra-African trade has climbed to about Sh28.8 trillion (around $220.3 billion), signaling growing momentum in regional commerce. But experts warn that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is still falling short of its intended on-the-ground impact, with implementation delays and persistent frictions limiting how fast deeper integration can move.
Record Numbers, Familiar Constraints
Intra-African trade surged to an estimated $220.3 billion (Sh28.5 trillion) in 2024, about a 12.4 per cent increase from the previous year, according to Afreximbank’s African Trade Report. Despite that growth, intra-regional commerce is still only 15 to 18 per cent of Africa’s total trade. While progress is being made, structural and policy hurdles continue to slow deeper economic integration.
AfCFTA’s Ambition vs. Operational Reality
AfCFTA, launched in 2021, aims to cut tariffs on roughly 90 per cent of intra-African tradable goods, reduce non-tariff barriers, and harmonize regulatory standards across member states. Hopwever, only a limited number of countries are actively trading under AfCFTA rules, due to challenges such as incomplete ratification of key protocols, inadequate infrastructure, and delays in aligning national tariffs and customs procedures with continental frameworks.
Experts have warned weak infrastructure, remaining tariffs, and poor policy coordination could undermine AfCFTA’s benefits even as trade totals rise.
Wamkele Mene’s Warning
At a recent Intra-African Trade Fair roadshow, AfCFTA Secretary-General Wamkele Mene highlighted the gap between headline growth and real integration: intra-regional trade is still only around 15–18 per cent of Africa’s total trade, compared with more than 60 per cent in Asia and 70 per cent in Europe, an indication, he suggested, of how much work remains.
Encouraging, But Not Enough
Speaking to The Standard, DHL Express CEO John Pearson argued that the improving trade figures are encouraging—but not enough on their own. “If Africa is trading more with itself, then some of that success can be attributed to the Africa Free Trade Agreement,” he said. “But it is a long journey, and there is still a lot of coordination required to make it work.”
He also pointed to Africa’s rising profile in global trade rankings: “Of the 20 fastest-growing countries on the Global Connectedness Tracker, 12 are from Africa,” he said, pointing to expanding trade networks across the continent.
Pearson stressed what must happen next: governments should prioritize “infrastructure, digitalization, seaport, rail, airport and handling reforms to make countries easier to trade with.”
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