Intra‑regional Food Trade in West Africa

4. Strengthening policy foundations for intra-regional food trade in West Africa

Abstract

Shifting entrenched misperceptions about intra-regional food trade is a critical first step toward more effective agricultural and trade policies in West Africa. Often dismissed as marginal or informal, this trade is in fact vital to West Africa’s food security and economic development. It is worth an estimated USD 10 billion annually, supports employment across value chains, and ensures year-round food availability. Reframing it as a strategic asset is essential for unlocking its full potential.

Regional trade also strengthens food sovereignty. It connects producers to growing urban markets, boosts domestic production, diversifies diets, and builds resilience against external shocks. Rather than undermining national food systems, it reinforces them. Yet, protectionist policies—especially export bans—continue to disrupt flows and weaken agricultural investment. ECOWAS can play a central role in shifting toward a shared regional vision, aligning national strategies, and promoting policies that support regional integration.

While non-tariff barriers remain significant, focusing solely on their removal overlooks deeper structural issues. Access to regulatory information, efficient public services, and modern transport systems are equally vital. Restoring trust in public institutions and building a service-oriented trade bureaucracy is key. ECOWAS can drive reforms by harmonising regulations and improving access to clear, centralised trade information across the region.

Finally, better data is essential. Up to 85% of intra-regional food trade goes unrecorded—missing from the data and missing from the debate. This gap distorts policymaking and undercuts support for regional trade. ECOWAS is well-placed to lead the harmonisation of national data systems capturing unrecorded trade into a unified regional framework, enabling more informed, coordinated and impactful policies across West Africa.

Shifting perceptions: The key to policy change

Challenging misconceptions about intra-regional food trade’s value

Dispelling policy biases against intra-regional food trade

Intra-regional food trade plays a critical role in West Africa, yet it is frequently underestimated and dismissed as insignificant. The prevailing narrative portrays it, mistakenly, as small-scale, informal and largely subordinate to extra-regional imports. This misconception contributes to an unsupportive and, at times, frankly hostile policy environment, marked by a lack of investment in public services for players involved in regional trade, inadequate trading infrastructure, and persistent road checkpoints, border frictions and export bans. Correcting these unfounded biases could become a first step toward building better policies and successfully leveraging the benefits of intra-regional food trade for economic development and food and nutrition security.

The value of intra-regional food trade is significant

The fundamental misconception is that intra-regional food trade in West Africa is low. Indeed, the statistical data fails to account for food that passes through informal border posts or is not recorded by customs officers. Our estimates suggest that it is worth approximately USD 10 billion annually—six times higher than the figures on record, an amount comparable to West Africa’s total rice1, wheat and palm oil imports (Chapter 1). Furthermore, over a third of regional food trade involves products of high economic value: animal proteins, fruits and vegetables. Three-quarters of it is transported by large lorries, belying the conventional narrative that informal trade is a subsistence activity that involves negligible, low-value transactions.

Long-distance trade within the region is common

Contrary to the perception that intra-regional trade is confined to short, cross-border exchanges, the evidence shows that food travels long distances across West Africa. Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Senegal—the second, third—and fifth largest regional food trade economies—send nearly half of their regionally traded food to non-neighbouring countries (Chapter 1). Major road food trade corridors, such as those from Dakar–Bamako and Abidjan–Lagos, in addition to maritime routes along West Africa’s coastline, stretch over 1,000 kilometres.

West Africa’s food trade intensity is comparable to other regions’

When the statistics are adjusted for unrecorded trade, intra-regional food trade can even be shown to outpace extra-regional trade. Our estimates suggest that up to 58% of regional food exports, cocoa and cashew excluded, are traded within the region. This is on par with the often-cited intra-regional trade statistic of 60% for the European Union, a bloc with double the partners and 15 times the gross domestic product (GDP) of ECOWAS. More than a third of West African countries also trade more food within the region than they do with the rest of the world. Nigeria, the region’s leading food trade economy, exports one-quarter of its food to Niger—more than it does to any other country globally.

Recognising regional trade as a pillar of food and nutrition security

Enhancing food availability across borders

Intra-regional trade is also a lifeline for regional food and nutrition security, with food flows criss-crossing the entire West African region. Annually, it facilitates the circulation of an estimated 68 trillion kilocalories—enough to meet the nutritional needs of 80 million people, or 25% of West Africa’s population.

Intra-regional food trade should also be recognised as a catalyst for regional food production, rather than, as it is commonly understood, a factor that displaces food from surplus to deficit areas. Domestic food supply grows in response to expanding demand from regional markets, with trade acting as the connector. For instance, more than half of Niger’s onions are produced for export to West African partner countries. Meanwhile, Niger is also self-sufficient in the product. Intra-regional trade thus helps increase the total food supply in the region, without diminishing the food and nutrition security of exporting countries.

Providing food throughout the year in specific places

Beyond this aggregate level, seasonal food trade in the region represents complementary rather than competing trade flows. It provides year-round availability for nutritious products that would otherwise be missing from markets during their lean domestic season. For instance, Ghana’s markets are stocked in tomatoes well beyond the country’s peak season, thanks to imports from Burkina Faso, which has a complementary seasonal production pattern.

The spatial concentration of regional food flows also matters. While at the national level, certain regional food imports can appear to be of little significance, they can be concentrated in, and critical for, some areas. For instance, 96% of the avocados consumed in Bamako—where half of Mali’s urban population resides—are supplied through regional trade (Chapter 2).

Increasing dietary diversity

More than a hundred different food items—including cereals, tubers, fruits, vegetables and proteins—are traded across the region weekly (Chapter 2). Leveraging regional food production and benefiting from complementarities, regional trade offers West Africa’s consumers a wide range of affordable, nutritious foods, complementing national production and global import supply chains. This diversity is essential for balanced diets and nutritional security.

Improving food affordability and price stability

By smoothing out fluctuations in seasonal food supply and buffering production shocks, intra-regional trade also helps stabilise food prices. Market integration reduces price volatility, ensuring that consumers have access to staple foods at predictable prices. The larger regional production capacity also mitigates localised shortages, as traders can tap other regional sources to provide food in areas where it is scarce.

Regional food trade also enhances food affordability by creating employment in the food economy. This employment provides wages that increase the capacity of workers to feed themselves in the now dominant market-based food economy. For instance, Niger’s onion industry, aiming to serve the West African market, creates 82 400 jobs in Niger alone (SOFRECO, 2022[1]).

Trade as a link to the expanding regional food market

Intra-regional trade connects farmers to a rapidly expanding regional food market. West Africa’s population has grown from 60 million in 1950 to nearly 400 million in 2020, with urban populations increasing from just 5 million to 200 million (OECD/SWAC, 2024[2]). Urbanisation is changing the way consumers source food, as city dwellers rely almost exclusively on the market to meet their needs: over two-thirds of food in West Africa now moves through market channels rather than being home-grown (Hollinger and Staatz, 2015[3]).

The regional market is expanding both in size and value. Urban consumers account for 67% of food demand, and they spend 50% more on food than rural populations (Allen and Heinrigs, 2016[4]). They consume more expensive foods, like animal-sourced foods, fruits and vegetables. In Nigeria, which represents half of West Africa’s population, fruit consumption doubled in rural areas and rose from 58% to 83% in cities between 2010 and 2019, while vegetable consumption grew annually by nearly 12% over the same period (Parkhi et al., 2023[5]).

As these trends accelerate, regional trade will become even more critical to link domestic value chains with a blossoming regional food market, which is expected to reach USD 480 billion by 2030 (Allen and Heinrigs, 2016[4]). By 2050, West Africa’s population is projected to double, with cities accounting for 90% of food demand. This represents a major opportunity for West African countries to boost their national production systems.

Building a regional food sovereignty agenda

A regional approach to food sovereignty

Embracing regional integration for food sovereignty

The food sovereignty agenda in many West African countries focuses on national self-sufficiency strategies, leading to policies that prioritise domestic production at the expense of leveraging regional markets and trade. Yet, food sovereignty in West African countries is strongly regional. The analysis of the origin, destination and composition of regional food trade highlights the fundamental importance of transnational networks of farmers and traders in contributing to food sovereignty at the national and regional levels.

On the production side, regional trade increases West African countries’ ability to feed themselves. Farmers and traders invest in producing more and better-quality products thanks to opportunities presented by regional markets. For instance, in Benin and Côte d’Ivoire, maize farmers and traders invest in the sector to export to Niger, with gains in productivity that also benefit domestic consumers. Similarly, in Burkina Faso, the tomato industry has grown in response to demand from its neighbour, Ghana.

On the consumption side, regional trading networks supply more food and a greater diversity of products than domestic and global markets alone can offer. These networks also bring resilience to food systems that can better weather both domestic and extra-regional food supply shocks. The broader regional production system is less volatile than the national systems individually; and it is less vulnerable to the logistical issues that disrupted global food exports during the COVID pandemic or the war in Ukraine.

Costly and volatile export bans undermine domestic food security

Rather than restricting intra-regional trade through persistent non-tariff barriers, governments could embrace and strengthen regional networks and flows that enhance their own countries’ food sovereignty.

The export bans recurrently adopted in the region exemplify incoherent policies that undermine efforts for domestic food sovereignty by disrupting established trade flows.2 They weaken regional trade networks that connect farmers to rewarding markets, thereby depressing farm-gate prices. When they are enforced or rescinded is also unpredictable. Therefore, export bans both decrease the rewards and increase the risks associated with agricultural production. They deter the private sector, from farmers to banks and insurance companies, from investing in the sustainable, resilient and productive food production systems that underpin food sovereignty.

This is also an issue for consumers. Export bans encourage volatile supply cycles and limit investments in agriculture, contributing to food inflation and price shocks. These shocks further undermine domestic food and nutrition security. Export bans also hurt consumers in countries that benefit from the food exported to their markets. This increases the risk of retaliation and a lose-lose trade war policy environment that increases food prices for all West African consumers.3

Leveraging regional markets to strengthen domestic production

West Africa’s competitive advantage in regional trade

For West African countries, the key to building stronger food production sectors and food economies lies in fully harnessing the opportunities presented by regional markets and integration. They have a competitive advantage over foreign competitors in dominating these growing markets (Chapter 3).

The main advantage of West African countries lies in their proximity and ability to supply fresh and perishable goods more efficiently than extra-regional competitors. Unlike long-distance suppliers, local producers can transport fresh products quickly, reducing spoilage and ensuring better quality. Additionally, many foods unique to the region, such as local fruits, vegetables, tubers, and traditional staples, are either too costly or impractical to produce and import from outside.

Local processing and trading companies also play a crucial role in strengthening West Africa’s competitive edge by understanding consumer preferences and market dynamics. They can tailor pricing, advertising, and distribution strategies to local demand, ensuring that products are well-positioned in the market. Strong distribution networks and deep knowledge of consumer tastes can help these companies outcompete foreign suppliers, offering products that appeal to local buyers at competitive prices.

Demand is increasing commercial agriculture investments

Investments in food production oriented towards the region are already increasing. Commercial agriculture is expanding, driven by urban professionals, rural entrepreneurs and even smallholders seizing on the opportunities brought by regional market growth. This is fuelling the rise of capitalised medium- and large-scale farms focused on meeting regional demand, particularly for fruits and vegetables, which require advanced technology and logistics. In Ghana, for instance, the share of farmland cultivated by medium-scale farms more than doubled between 2008 and 2013, reflecting similar trends across Africa as high-value horticulture and fruit production grow (Jayne et al., 2019[6]).

Private investments have significantly boosted fruit and vegetable production in West Africa. Harvested areas of fruits have expanded by 30% and 70% for vegetables between 2010 and 2022 (FAO, 2024[7]). These high-value crops now rival the production of traditional exports like cocoa and cotton, indicating the shift in agriculture towards meeting regional food demand.

Commercial agriculture also creates spillovers for the rest of the agricultural economy, increasing the capacity of West African countries to feed themselves. For instance, commercial farms support smallholder farmers’ productivity with training, input access and market connections. The labour-intensive nature of horticulture and fruit production creates employment, while the demand for agricultural input, financial services and logistics of these farms fuels the growth of the service ecosystem for agricultural production.

Connecting productive clusters to regional markets

The growing and urbanising regional food market has created more stable demand for agricultural products, making long-term investments in agrifood more attractive. This has led to the emergence of agricultural clusters – geographically concentrated farms in favourable agro-ecological zones, supported by off-farm enterprises providing essential goods and services. These clusters drive productivity growth, create economies of scale, and enable local producers to compete with global exporters, while meeting regional demand.

Across West Africa, the rise of these clusters is transforming food production, strengthening regional trade, and encouraging economic growth. Examples include Senegal’s Niayes region, which supplies 80% of the country’s fruit and horticultural production, and Nigeria’s growing aquaculture and fishery clusters, supported by high private investment intensity into productive capital, such as irrigation pumps for horticulture (Reardon et al., 2024[8]).

A critical but often overlooked benefit of regional-oriented, commercial agriculture is the growth of the midstream sector, or the “hidden middle”. This economic segment connects farmers to consumers through warehousing, cold storage, processing, packaging and logistics. As regional demand for fresher and more processed foods grows, midstream services are expanding, which makes it possible to transport food for greater distances while maintaining quality. A healthy and growing hidden middle is critical for food sovereignty, since it is the foundation of a more vibrant and responsive food production base.

ECOWAS’ role in an agenda for regional food sovereignty

Shaping a shared vision for food sovereignty

The ECOWAS can play a pivotal role in aligning national agricultural and food policies with a regional vision. Its convening power can strengthen collaboration between national governments, regional bodies and the private sector to make food sovereignty a shared regional goal.

The ECOWAS Agricultural Policy (ECOWAP) is central to this effort. Adopted in 2005, it provides a comprehensive framework for agricultural development across member states, with the promotion of intra-regional food trade as one of its core goals. It was revised in 2015 with a Strategic Orientation Framework (2016-25), which also includes integration of the regional market as one of its strategic objectives.

As the framework nears its expiration, a new iteration presents an opportunity to reaffirm the regional orientation of food sovereignty policies adopted in member states. This includes policies that promote regional export growth for domestic value chains and that streamline trade regulations, such as the removal of non-tariff barriers (NTBs), to enhance regional trade flows and leverage regional demand for local production systems.

Enhancing regulatory convergence for seamless food trade

With its ability to bring its members together, ECOWAS can actively improve food sovereignty by increasing convergence on trade regulations in its free trade area. Harmonising inconsistent trade rules within ECOWAS could cut trade costs by 30% and unlock USD 300 million additional intra-regional trade (UNCTAD, 2018[9]). Bringing regional regulations in line with international standards would also make ECOWAS firms more competitive in foreign markets and spur their growth, with a spillover effect on regional trade estimated at an additional USD 1.57 billion annually (UNCTAD, 2018[9]).

The ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme4 largely eliminated tariffs on regional agricultural goods, but ECOWAS has yet to tackle effectively inconsistent and abusive use of non-tariff measures (NTMs) by its member states. These practices generate compliance costs significantly higher than in other regions for food traders (UNCTAD, 2018[9]). For instance, when crossing a border in ECOWAS, traders must present at least three documents for food product customs inspections (a certificate of origin, customs and statistical nomenclature, Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards inspection) and 18 documents for transport. Because regional standards are not harmonised—such as axle-load limits, vehicle inspection certificates and phytosanitary certificates—this also increases the administrative burden and delays at the border, as well as compounding the already high transaction costs (OIayinka and Wieck, 2021[10]).

Strengthening enforcement of trade rules

A sticking point in enhancing intra-regional food trade is the low implementation of ECOWAS trade standards in national legislations and custom practices. While member states are responsible for upholding their regional commitments, ECOWAS also bears the responsibility for ensuring compliance.

To address this, ECOWAS could strengthen its enforcement mechanisms by leveraging existing legal and institutional frameworks. Legally speaking, the ECOWAS Court of Justice has the authority to interpret and apply community laws such as trade regulations, but its enforcement capacity in trade cases is virtually not exercised. The cases that reach the Court depend on the willingness to engage among member states and their national courts, which have not been involved in trade matters (UNCTAD, 2018[9]).

ECOWAS could further promote compliance through soft enforcement mechanisms such as mediation and peer pressure. The Task Force of the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme provides an alternative platform for resolving disputes. In 2024, it mediated between Niger and Benin after Benin closed its border, restricting exports of maize to Niger to the detriment of the food security of Nigeriens. Such mechanisms could be further empowered and leveraged to accelerate trade regulatory convergence and enforcement.

The ECOWAS could also step up the implementation of reporting mechanisms, like digital NTB Reporting and Monitoring Systems. These platforms enable private sector stakeholders to report violations in real time, increasing pressure on states to comply. They have been successful in other regional economic communities, like the EAC NTB app in the East African Community. The African Union has launched its own version, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) NTB reporting, and other initiatives could be encouraged in West Africa, such as the Trade Obstacles Alert Mechanism (TOAM) of the International Trade Centre (ITC).

Finally, it could use benchmarking approaches to enhance the enforcement of trade rules by clearly distinguishing between governments that perform well and that perform poorly in this area. A notable example of this approach is the ECOWAS Agriculture Trade and Market (EATM) Scorecard, currently being implemented through the Food Systems Resilience Programme (FSRP), a joint initiative of ECOWAS and the World Bank.

Beyond non-tariff barriers: more coherent regional trade policies

The limits of a narrow focus on non-tariff barriers

While NTBs receive significant policy attention and are in fact a major impediment to regional food trade, excessive focus on reducing them overlooks broader structural challenges. Trade policy focus in the region, both at ECOWAS and the national level, should extend beyond NTB removal to consider complementary reforms in domains like access to information, public services and transport.

Improving regulatory information: Ease of access and clarity

Regulatory opacity is a major obstacle to intra-regional food trade in West Africa, driving up costs and discouraging participation in the market. Traders face fragmented, inconsistent rules across member states, forcing reliance on informal networks and third-party intermediaries to navigate the maze of regulations. The ECOWAS and national governments should attempt to consolidate trade regulations into centralised, easily accessible platforms that facilitate the entry of food trading constituencies into the regional market.

Functional online regional trade information hubs would significantly reduce asymmetries of information, reducing entry costs to the regional market for new entrants and transaction costs for incumbent traders. These hubs could be provided at national level as part of trade facilitation one-stop shops. At a regional level, the ECOWAS could revive and streamline the ECOWAS Trade Information System (ECOTIS) portal, which has not been updated since 2022. These platforms could be free of charge and regularly updated to reflect real-time changes in trade policies.

Clarity and usability must be at the core of these efforts. Trade regulations should be presented in simple, accessible language, with visual guides and interactive tools to facilitate understanding. Governments and regional organisations could also invest in more proactive public-private engagement strategies around regional trade promotion, including regular updates and responsive help desks to assist businesses. A dedicated reporting and feedback mechanism would also allow users to highlight inconsistencies, ensuring that the platforms remain responsive to market needs.

Restoring confidence in public institutions for trade

Regional food businesses cite unhelpful and ineffective public services as major obstacles to regional trade (OECD/SWAC, 2025[11]). Without trust in customs authorities, trade ministries and regulatory bodies, food trading companies in the region often opt to market their food domestically, target more reliable extra-regional markets or follow informal trading channels. Addressing this requires a shift to a service-oriented bureaucracy that prioritises trader support.

One-stop trade facilitation centers and electronic single-window systems are among the options for institutional reform. One such example is Nigeria’s National Single Window Initiative to Enhance Revenue Generation and Streamline Import/Export Trade Process for Ease of Business, launched in 2024, and expected to bring an annual economic benefit of USD 2.7 billion (Statehouse of Nigeria, 2024[12]). These integrated platforms can help replace fragmented, duplicative institutional processes, allowing businesses to obtain permits, clear goods and resolve disputes in a single location. Digitalising procedures and automating customs clearance can also minimise corruption risks and speed up regional transactions.

Transparency and accountability of trade public services are equally critical. Governments could enhance the collection of updated data on food cargo movements, maintain accessible registers of certified traders, and provide traders with clear points of contact for resolving regional trade disputes. Dedicated trade support desks should be further promoted in ministries and border agencies to offer guidance and troubleshooting assistance. In cases where goods are unfairly blocked or delayed, authorities could intervene more swiftly, with clearer resolution mechanisms.

Building better food transport: From roads to logistics

Improving road networks to facilitate supply chains

Improving West Africa’s road infrastructure is one of the most effective strategies to accelerate intra-regional food trade and strengthen food and nutrition security. In West Africa, a 1% improvement in road quality is associated with nearly USD 1 million in additional trade. Yet the gap in infrastructure quality—both globally and within Africa—remains stark. The disparity in the road quality between the Lagos–Dakar corridor and South Africa’s network is estimated at 391% (Malabo Montpellier Panel, 2020[13]). Inadequate roads result in longer travel times, higher spoilage rates and increased transport costs for agricultural goods—impacts that are especially acute in landlocked countries. Bridging this infrastructure divide is essential to unlocking regional food supply chains, lowering food prices for consumers and expanding market access for producers.

The Lagos–Abidjan corridor exemplifies the transformative potential of co-ordinated infrastructure investment. Plans to upgrade the corridor into a six-lane expressway by 2030—backed by over USD 15 billion in investment commitments (AfDB, 2024[14]), are an opportunity not only to improve civilian mobility but also to facilitate the transport of goods, including food. The road network expansion is an opportunity to encourage the development of agro-processing and logistics hubs along the route, further reinforcing regional food value chains. The upgraded corridor could massively boost regional food trade flows for Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Nigeria—West Africa’s top three food trading economies—which already account for 63% of intra-regional food trade, worth approximately USD 6 billion annually.

Reducing roadblocks

Inefficient food transport in the region is not solely a hard infrastructure issue. West African countries have established multiple “control points” along trade corridors. This violates regional trade rules, which permit such checkpoints only at loading, unloading and border posts. Between 2017 and 2020, for example, a 52 km stretch of the Abidjan–Lagos trade corridor in Togo had between 7 and 13 control points (Bouët, Sall and Traoré, 2023[15]).

These control points incur both direct financial and transaction costs for regional food traders. In Togo, traders paid an average of USD 576 in “facilitation payments” to customs authorities. They also lost three hours for every 100 km to delays (Bouët, Sall and Traoré, 2023[15]), a cost that disproportionately affects trade in higher-value and nutritious perishable goods, such as fruits and vegetables.

These costs are ultimately passed on to farmers through lower prices, and to consumers through higher prices. They stymie domestic production, undermining food sovereignty policies. They also make regional food less competitive and reduce its affordability for consumers, intensifying the regional crisis in food inflation. One study estimated the cost to consumers of illicit taxation on food trade corridors at 9.9% for onions, 12.7% for maize, 43% for millet and 32% for livestock between Mali and Senegal (Gourichon and Demanet, 2017[16]).

Enabling higher quality food logistics

Support for food transport should extend beyond road improvement policies to include higher-quality logistical services. A better policy environment is essential to enhance the availability and efficiency of regional food transport, storage and distribution services—key enablers of intra-regional food trade.

Improved logistics can encourage the expansion of a more dynamic small and medium-scale food business sector. Many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) lack the resources to maintain their own transport and distribution networks and often rely on inefficient alternatives such as civilian inter-city buses (OECD/SWAC, 2025[11]; Karg et al., 2022[17]). Strengthening the private sector logistics ecosystem would provide them with more reliable options.

Consumers also stand to benefit from better food transport and storage. Currently, an estimated 40% of food produced in Africa is lost or wasted annually. A more efficient private sector for activities such as processing, transport and packaging could reduce these losses, increasing the availability of perishable foods in urban areas and helping to lower prices ( (Malabo Montpellier Panel, 2020[13]).

Better data, better policies: Strengthening the evidence base

Regional food trade: Missing from the data, missing from the debate

In West Africa, up to 85% of intra-regional food trade goes unrecorded (Chapter 1). This data gap leads to a deep imbalance between the true significance of regional trade for domestic economies, and its perceived importance and consideration in policy frameworks. It underscores the critical need for policymakers to invest in robust trade data systems that will inform more grounded food sovereignty policies.

Domestic efforts to collect data on unrecorded food trade exist but have been sporadic, owing to limited resources and policy interest. National Statistical Institutes in countries like Benin, Togo, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone, as well as the Central Bank of Nigeria, have only conducted national surveys on unrecorded trade once or twice in the past decade. These surveys, while very valuable, have also been limited in scope. For instance, Nigeria’s study covered only 16 informal border points along 2 500 km of its borders with Benin and Niger. Additional constraints owing to limited resources include limited coverage hours (e.g. no night-time operations), challenges in interviewing all traders at a given site, and a limited number of data collection periods a year.

The restricted scope, methodological limitations and infrequent collection of trade data, largely due to financial, human and policy constraints, have prevented the inclusion of unrecorded trade data in national statistical systems, reducing its visibility for policymakers, donors and the private sector. Even in cases where this data has been collected, it has not yet been officially incorporated into the government statistics of any West African country.

Enhancing national capacity to measure regional food trade

The underlying cause is the insufficient budget for measuring regional food trade. National statistical capacity requires adequate resources to measure the scope of regional food flows accurately. With more reliable and credible data on regional food trade, the information can be incorporated into official statistical systems, giving more realistic and actionable insight into the economic impact, nutritional value and market opportunities afforded by intra-regional food trade.

Better accounting of food trade flows can start at border checkpoints, where a significant amount go unregistered. Customs officers under-record regional food flows for various reasons: because there are no tax obligations on agricultural goods; because they are trying to expedite merchandise transit; or due to collusion and malpractice. Several cost-effective solutions could enhance the reporting of border-level trade, including introducing digital systems, training customs officers, and such institutional reforms as expanding border posts and instituting regular staff rotations to minimise the risk of misconduct.

The most critical aspect of enhancing regional food trade measurement concerns the tracking of flows going through informal border crossings. This requires dedicated funding for National Statistical Institutions, which hold an official mandate for government data collection. These institutions can build on existing measurement frameworks and previous collection efforts. The financial investment required is modest. Benin’s National Statistical Institute, for instance, successfully monitored trade at 200 informal crossing points in 2018-2019, with a budget of about USD 800 000, which represented only 0.037% of Benin’s public spending in 2019 (Ministry of Economy and Finance, 2020[18]). This level of funding could be sustainably maintained and expanded annually to include additional crossing points, longer monitoring periods and additional enumerators.

The return on investment for such initiatives would be substantial. Better trade monitoring could provide governments precise data on cross-border circulation of foodstuffs, including trade values, quantities and the destination markets. Better information could encourage more efficient public spending, with more accurate food security policies, better-informed export promotion strategies and more effective domestic value chain initiatives. It would also facilitate formulation of better-targeted tax revenue measures.

From data fragmentation to harmonisation: ECOWAS' mandate

The accurate measurement of regional trade flows would need to rely on a standardised measurement approach, applied consistently in origin and destination countries. Data would be collected at the domestic level, but a harmonised, region-wide statistical framework could reconcile national-level data collection efforts to produce a unified set of data that could be aggregated and compared.

As the largest regional organisation in West Africa, with the mandate to facilitate the circulation of goods, people and services across borders, the ECOWAS is uniquely positioned to lead this effort. The organisation already has trade, customs, agricultural and statistical departments that could become the institutional foundation for a regional statistical programme for measuring intra-regional food trade. ECOWAS could use its convening and normative power to bring national statistical institutions to the table. In this forum, ECOWAS, other regional organisations and governments could build capacity around a common framework for capturing unrecorded intra-regional food trade.

The ECOWAS would also be well placed to align such efforts with broader African Union initiatives, such as those led by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) to standardise methods for capturing informal trade data across the continent. It could also involve other West African regional organisations, such as the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA), and relevant technical experts from the regional and global community.

References

[14] AfDB (2024), African Development Bank and partners plan to make Abidjan-Lagos corridor highway a potent economic and industrial hub, https://afdb.africa-newsroom.com/press/la-banque-africaine-de-developpement-et-ses-partenaires-veulent-faire-du-corridor-autoroutier-abidjanlagos-un-puissant-vivier-economique-et-industriel?lang=en (accessed on 2 October 2025).

[4] Allen, T. and P. Heinrigs (2016), “Emerging Opportunities in the West African Food Economy”, West African Papers, No. 1, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/5jlvfj4968jb-en.

[20] Allen, T. and P. Heinrigs (2016), “Les nouvelles opportunités de l’économie alimentaire ouest-africaine”, Notes ouest-africaines, No. 1, Éditions OCDE, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/5jlwjg67l25f-fr.

[15] Bouët, A., M. Sall and F. Traoré (2023), “Afrique de l’Ouest : Les tracasseries routières aggravent l’insécurité alimentaire”, La lettre du CEPII, No. 437, CEPII, Paris, https://www.cepii.fr/PDF_PUB/lettre/2023/let437.pdf (accessed on 2 October 2025).

[7] FAO (2024), FAOSTAT (database), FAO, Rome, https://www.fao.org/faostat/fr/#home (accessed on 26 November 2024).

[16] Gourichon, H. and C. Demanet (2017), Lutter contre les tracasseries routières pour garantir la sécurité alimentaire au Mali : Synthèse des résultats et recommandations, FAO, Rome, https://openknowledge.fao.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/79a0697d-57e3-4cb9-bae9-56621b1d440a/content (accessed on 2 October 2025).

[3] Hollinger, F. and J. Staatz (2015), Agricultural growth in West Africa: Market and policy drivers., FAO, Rome, https://openknowledge.fao.org/items/d8ca0838-c62f-4a9e-afd8-15f29349e675 (accessed on 2 October 2025).

[22] Jayne, T. et al. (2019), “Are medium‐scale farms driving agricultural transformation in sub‐Saharan Africa?”, Agricultural Economics, Vol. 50/S1, pp. 75-95, https://doi.org/10.1111/agec.12535.

[6] Jayne, T. et al. (2019), “Are medium‐scale farms driving agricultural transformation in sub‐Saharan Africa?”, Agricultural Economics, Vol. 50/S1, pp. 75-95, https://doi.org/10.1111/agec.12535.

[17] Karg, H. et al. (2022), “Food Flows and the Roles of Cities in West African Food Distribution Networks”, Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, Vol. 6, https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2022.857567.

[13] Malabo Montpellier Panel (2020), ’Trading up: policy innovations to expand food and agriculture in Africa, Akademiya2063, Dakar, https://www.mamopanel.org/media/uploads/files/Trade-report-MaMO_2020.pdf (accessed on 2 October 2025).

[19] Malabo Montpellier Panel (2020), Trading up: Policy innovations to expand food and agricultural trade in Africa.

[18] Ministry of Economy and Finance (2020), Rapport d’exécution au 31 Décembre du Budget de l’Etat, Gestion 2019. République du Bénin., Ministry of Economy and Finance, https://budgetbenin.bj/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/RAPPORT-EXECUTION-BUDGET-GESTION-2019.pdf (accessed on 2 October 2025).

[11] OECD/SWAC (2025), The Food Trade Environment in West Africa: A Private Sector Perception Survey, OECD, Paris.

[2] OECD/SWAC (2024), Africapolis Data, https://shorturl.at/9exAP (accessed on 24 November 2024).

[10] OIayinka, I. and C. Wieck (2021), “Mapping agricultural trade within the ECOWAS: structure and flow of agricultural products, barriers to trade, financing gaps and policy options”, Agricultural Economics Working Paper Series, No. 32, University of Hohenheim, Hohenheim, https://ideas.repec.org/p/ags/uhgewp/316918.html (accessed on 2 October 2025).

[21] Parkhi, C. et al. (2023), Heterogeneous consumption patterns of fruits and vegetables in Nigeria: A panel data analysis, https://www.canr.msu.edu/fsg/publications/Nigeria_Policy%20Brief_Fruits_Vegetable%20Consumption%201.pdf.

[5] Parkhi, C. et al. (2023), “Heterogeneous consumption patterns of fruits and vegetables in Nigeria: A panel data analysis”, Policy Research Brief, No. 2, MSU.

[23] Reardon, T. et al. (2024), “African domestic supply booms in value chains of fruits, vegetables, and animal products fueled by spontaneous clusters of <scp>SMEs</scp>”, Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, https://doi.org/10.1002/aepp.13436.

[8] Reardon, T. et al. (2024), “African domestic supply booms in value chains of fruits, vegetables, and animal products fueled by spontaneous clusters of <scp>SMEs</scp>”, Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Vol. 46/2, pp. 390-413, https://doi.org/10.1002/aepp.13436.

[1] SOFRECO (2022), Analyse approfondie de la chaine de valeur oignon au Niger 2021-2030, SOFRECO, https://reca-niger.org/IMG/pdf/l4-etude_oignon.pdf (accessed on 2 October 2025).

[12] Statehouse of Nigeria (2024), President Tinubu Launches National Single Window Initiative to Enhance Revenue Generation and Streamline Import/Export Trade Process for Ease of Business, https://statehouse.gov.ng/news/president-tinubu-launches-national-single-window-initiative-to-enhance-revenue-generation-and-streamline-import-export-trade-process-for-ease-of-business/ (accessed on 2 April 2025).

[9] UNCTAD (2018), Regional Integration and Non-Tariff Measures in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), UNCTAD, https://unctad.org/publication/regional-integration-and-non-tariff-measures-economic-community-west-african-states (accessed on 2 October 2025).

Notes

← 1.  Data on West Africa intra-regional food trade in this report refers to the 15 countries that were members of the ECOWAS as of 2024, when the scope for the report was finalised: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo.

← 2.  Only recently, in January 2024, Côte d’Ivoire imposed a six-month export ban on 20 regionally traded food products.

← 3.  In May 2024, for example, Benin restricted maize exports, disrupting supply chains and reducing food security for millions in Niger.

← 4.  The ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme was adopted in 1979, launched in 1990 and revised in 2003. It establishes a free trade area and specifies that unprocessed food and agricultural products, as well as those processed locally, are exempt from customs duties and taxes of equivalent effect, with the exception of value-added and excise taxes.