2023 REVIEW : Intra-African trade increased by 7.2 %
[abelainfo] - Southern Africa remains the main driver of intra-African trade, accounting for 41.4% of all trade between countries on the continent during the past year.
Intra-African trade recorded a growth of 7.2 % in 2023, reaching $192 billion, according to a report officially presented on Wednesday, June 12, 2024, by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).
Titled « African Trade Report 2024: Climate Implications of AfCFTA Implementation, » the report indicates that intra-regional trade accounted for 15 % of the continent’s total trade during the past year, up from 13.6 % in 2022.
However, this increase masks significant disparities between the continent’s sub-regions. With 41.4 %, Southern Africa remains the main driver of trade between African countries, compared to 25.7 % for West Africa, 14.1% for East Africa, 12.4 % for North Africa, and 6.6 % for Central Africa.
The report also reveals that the total value of Africa’s intra-regional and extra-regional trade decreased by 6.3 % in 2023, to around $1.3 trillion. This is attributable to several factors that have slowed global demand for raw materials and weighed on the continent’s merchandise exports, including the escalation of geopolitical tensions related to the prolonged war in Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East, the persistence of high-interest rates, and the slowdown in economic growth in China and several developed countries.
While oil accounts for more than 36 % of Africa’s total exports, the volatility of crude oil prices has negatively impacted the continent’s trade performance. These prices have indeed fallen to an average of $82.62 per barrel in 2023, compared to around $99.82 per barrel in 2022.
The impact was largely felt by the major oil exporters such as Nigeria, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Libya. Nigeria, for example, experienced a 19.08 % decline in its total trade with other countries in the world in 2023.
The report also shows that Africa’s main trading partners are changing as emerging Asian economies become important sources of global demand and growth. The share of the European Union (EU) in the continent’s exports has decreased from an average of 47.8 % in the 1990s to 26.8 % during the 2014-2023 decade. In contrast, Asia’s share has increased from 4.5 % in the 1990s to 26 % in the last decade.
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