Trade Dynamics in Africa: Introduction and Background

Abstract International trade in Africa has been marred by various challenges, despite notable successes with the northern African countries in penetrating the international markets. Trade would flourish when countries produce what their trading partners are in need to acquire. This is not yet the case with many African countries. They produce primary goods, mostly agricultural products, and more of the extractive products. These are shipped abroad unprocessed, while the continent would receive value-added products that are expensive. This is a weakness that has often frustrated policymakers, complicating regional integration and resulting in low intraregional trade in the process. The markets for African products are mainly the European Union, China and the United States of America. Cross-border restrictions, poor transport networks, conflicting trade rules and overlapping membership of Regional Economic Communities, among various other challenges, have affected the level of intra-African as well as international trade over the past few decades.