Building capacity to help Africa trade better

Tariff and non-tariff trade costs of intra-African manufacturing trade

Infographics

Tariff and non-tariff trade costs of intra-African manufacturing trade

The cost of trade in manufacturing is the tariff and non-tariff costs associated with bilateral trade of goods which have undergone some sort of transformation process, including preservation, refinery, spinning, distillation and smelting, in accordance with the International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (ISIC). Such products include processed food products, wine, woven fabrics and apparel, fuels, furniture and pharmaceuticals. Bilateral costs for manufactures trade include all costs involved in trading bilaterally between trade partners – the average tariff on the goods traded, transport costs, costs associated with completing trade procedures, and the time it takes to obtain the necessary information. 

In 2017, the African countries with the lowest tariff costs of manufacturing products were Libya (3.67%), Mauritius (4.05%), Seychelles (5.56%), Eswatini (6.48%) and Comoros (6.51%). The countries with the highest average tariff costs for intra-Africa bilateral trade in manufactures were Gambia, Chad, Ethiopia, Algeria and Cape Verde.

In contrast, the African countries with the lowest non-tariff trade costs in 2017 were South Africa, Tunisia, Burkina Faso, Mozambique and Ivory Coast. The non-tariff bilateral cost of trading manufactured goods intra-Africa is highest for trade between southern Africa (mainly Botswana & Zimbabwe) and west Africa (Senegal, Nigeria, Ghana & Benin), but also for trade between countries in west Africa and east Africa (specifically trade with Uganda & Kenya)

The bilateral costs for the trade in manufactures reported in this infographic are sourced from the ESCAP-World Bank trade cost database.

Tariff and non-tariff trade costs of intra-African manufacturing trade

Registration to the tralac website is required to download these files.

Contact

Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Tel +27 21 880 2010