By Carlton Oloo
African trade corridors are entering a decisive transition phase as governments, exporters and logistics operators adjust to tightening climate regulations, higher transport costs and stricter compliance requirements in global markets, according to TradeMark Africa’s newly released 2024–25 Annual Report.
The report highlights how investments in ports, borders and inland logistics systems are no longer focused solely on speed and volume, but increasingly on sustainability, traceability and regulatory readiness, particularly for agriculture-dependent economies.
As global markets introduce tougher environmental, sanitary and traceability standards, Africa’s ability to remain competitive will depend on how effectively its trade infrastructure adapts to these new realities.
Trade Corridors Under Pressure
TradeMark Africa’s assessment covers a period marked by overlapping challenges. Exporters across the continent face growing compliance demands linked to climate policy, deforestation rules and food safety standards, while governments operate under constrained fiscal space and rising expectations to deliver inclusive, growth-supporting infrastructure.
Against this backdrop, the report shows that recent investments continue to deliver measurable efficiency gains, but warns that these gains must now be consolidated and aligned with climate and regulatory demands to avoid becoming obsolete.
Total throughput along key African corridors rose to approximately 41 million tonnes in 2024–25, up from about 36 million tonnes the previous year, while container traffic exceeded two million TEUs. These improvements reflect sustained efforts to reduce bottlenecks, modernise infrastructure and improve coordination between transport systems and border agencies.
However, the report stresses that in a more rules-driven global trading environment, inefficiency now carries a higher economic cost, particularly for agricultural exports where margins are thin and compliance failures can mean outright market exclusion.
Ports Become Climate and Compliance Gateways
Ports illustrate the changing role of trade infrastructure. At Mombasa Port, upgrades to access roads and the introduction of digital traffic management systems have cut travel times around the port by nearly 50%, reducing congestion, fuel consumption and emissions.
Inland, the Naivasha dry port is being positioned as a rail-linked logistics hub supporting Kenya’s horticulture exports. This is particularly significant as fresh produce exporters face rising pressure from European and Asian buyers to demonstrate lower emissions, reliable cold-chain management and full traceability.
TradeMark Africa estimates that, where suitable, shifting freight from air to sea can cut logistics emissions by up to 80%, while significantly reducing transport costs—provided temperature control and handling standards are maintained.
For governments, these shifts are fiscally important. Lower logistics costs strengthen export competitiveness and can increase customs revenues without additional subsidies, offering a rare win-win in a constrained budget environment.
New Transport Modes and Regional Connectivity
Beyond seaports, African countries are experimenting with alternative transport modes to reduce costs and emissions. Rwanda’s newly launched Rubavu Port on Lake Kivu is designed to divert trade from congested road networks to water transport, lowering costs while strengthening regional integration with neighbouring economies.
In Tanzania, a €15 million EU Global Gateway-backed trade and transport programme is targeting efficiency and sustainability upgrades at Dar es Salaam Port, reflecting growing alignment between African infrastructure priorities and climate-focused external financing.
For landlocked countries, the report notes, port reliability is no longer a logistical detail but a macroeconomic issue, directly influencing inflation, export prices and balance-of-payments stability.
Border Reforms Critical for Agricultural Trade
Border management reforms remain central to corridor performance, especially for agriculture and small-scale trade. One-stop border posts (OSBPs) at crossings such as Elegu, Rusizi and Mahagi combine physical infrastructure with institutional reform, bringing multiple agencies under one roof and digitising procedures.
At Mahagi on the Uganda–DRC border, earlier upgrades helped double trade volumes between 2019 and 2022, while cutting clearance costs by more than 35%. The report notes that such reforms disproportionately benefit small-scale and women traders, whose livelihoods are highly sensitive to delays, unpredictability and informal payments.
By reducing friction at borders, governments not only facilitate trade but also gradually integrate informal activity into formal systems, improving income stability and broadening the tax base.
Digital Systems Meet Climate and Market Rules
Digitalisation is emerging as a central tool for managing both efficiency and compliance. In Mozambique, the rollout of electronic phytosanitary certification has reduced processing times for agricultural exporters from around 12 days to just two or three, lowering transaction costs in a sector that accounts for roughly 25% of national output.
Similar initiatives across East and Southern Africa aim to strengthen laboratory testing, electronic certification and cargo tracking as exporters prepare for stricter sanitary, deforestation and traceability requirements in global markets.
The report warns that weak testing capacity and paper-based systems risk turning standards into de facto trade barriers, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises that lack the resources to navigate complex compliance regimes.
Climate Now Embedded in Trade Planning
A notable shift captured in the report is the integration of climate considerations into trade corridor planning. During the reporting period, greenhouse gas baselines were established for major African trade corridors using international measurement frameworks.
These baselines create the first harmonised emissions profiles for African trade routes and are intended to inform corridor-level emissions reduction plans aligned with national climate commitments.
TradeMark Africa argues that treating climate and trade as separate policy domains is no longer viable, as transport and logistics account for a significant share of trade-related emissions globally. Failure to adapt, the report warns, could expose African exporters to higher costs, carbon penalties or reduced market access as climate rules tighten.
Inclusion, Livelihoods and Trade Reform
Beyond infrastructure, the report highlights the social dimension of trade facilitation. Structured cross-border markets, solar-powered border facilities and targeted access-to-finance programmes are being used to integrate informal traders into more predictable trading systems.
In Tanzania, targeted support for women-led enterprises improved access to credit, regional markets and public procurement opportunities, linking trade reform directly to livelihoods and inclusion, rather than treating them as parallel objectives.
From Expansion to Integration
Overall, TradeMark Africa’s report presents African trade policy as shifting from simple expansion toward system-level integration. The focus is increasingly on managing interconnected networks that link ports, borders, digital systems and climate risk.
The challenge ahead, the organisation concludes, is consolidation: maintaining infrastructure, ensuring digital platforms remain interoperable, and applying standards consistently across regions.
For African economies navigating tighter fiscal space and more demanding global markets, the performance of trade corridors—measured not just in speed and volume, but in cost, resilience and compliance—will play a central role in shaping future growth, agricultural competitiveness and development outcomes.