Trade between African countries has long been outstripped by intra-regional trade in other parts of the world – for Africa as a whole, intra-regional trade is between 10% and 13% of total trade. This is far lower than in regions such as the EU, where about 60% of trade is between member states, and the Association of South-east Asian Nations, which has a rate of about 25%. Intra-regional trade in North America is put at about 40%.
However, the ratification of the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) – potentially later in 2017 – could help change that and push the development of more intra-regional trade growth. A pan-regional free-trade zone, the TFTA stretches from Cairo to Cape Town and encompasses 26 African countries.
