Intra-African Trade Rises 5.5% To $213.8bn In 2025 Says Afreximbank

South Africa remains Africa’s biggest intra-continental trader as trade volume increased by $11.1 billion in 2025.

Intra-African trade increased by 5.47 per cent to $213.8 billion in 2025, up from $202.7 billion in 2024, according to the latest trade report released by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).

The bank attributed the $11.1 billion increase to stronger economic activity and expanding trade flows across several African countries, particularly Ethiopia, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia.

Afreximbank’s report identified South Africa as the largest contributor to trade within the continent, while Côte d’Ivoire maintained a leading role in West African commerce.

According to the report, South Africa accounted for 19.2 per cent of total intra-African trade in 2025, down slightly from 20.8 per cent in 2024. The country imported goods worth $10.04 billion from other African nations during the year, while its exports to African markets remained steady at $31.1 billion.

Côte d’Ivoire represented 4.83 per cent of intra-African trade in 2025, underscoring its continued importance as a regional trade hub.

The report said Côte d’Ivoire’s position was strengthened by its membership of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

The country remains a major exporter of cocoa, cashew nuts, rubber and palm oil and is increasingly focusing on domestic processing and value addition in the cocoa and cashew sectors. Its principal regional trading partners include Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana and Nigeria.

Afreximbank noted that South Africa and Morocco continue to serve as major gateways to Southern and North African markets respectively, while Côte d’Ivoire’s push toward agro-industrial processing is gradually reinforcing its position as a manufacturing and export base in West Africa.

The report comes amid growing efforts to deepen trade integration under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Earlier, Afreximbank estimated that Africa faces an annual trade finance gap of about $100 billion, a challenge the bank said continues to hinder the continent from fully realising the benefits of the AfCFTA.

Despite this, the bank projected that intra-African trade, estimated at $220.3 billion for 2024 in its 2025 report, could double within the next decade as African countries fully implement the continental trade agreement.

For Nigeria, crude oil remained the country’s largest export to African markets during the period. However, the report observed increasing momentum in exports of refined petroleum products following the operational launch of the Dangote Refinery.