Bloc to raise trade between African countries by 50pc

PUBLISHED ON November 20th, 2019

Bloc to raise trade between African countries by 50pc

Intra-African trade will increase by 52.3 per cent under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), according to the African Trade Report 2018.

The report, released by a pan African financial institution, Areximbank, the value and volumes of traded goods and services are also expected to more than double within the first decade of implementation, it has been revealed.

Trade experts say this will happen if the implementation “is accompanied by robust trade facilitation measures”.

According to the report, removal of all tariffs will lead to welfare gains of $3.58 billion.

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is anticipated to increase by 0.65 per cent, volume of exports grows by 2.94 per cent and imports increase by 3.13 per cent.

However, removal of all tariffs and all non-tariff barriers (NTBs) will lead to a welfare gain of $17.95 billion, 3.15 per cent growth in GDP, 5.2 per cent growth in exports and 6.59 per cent growth in imports.

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