Intra-African trade jumps 5.5% to $213.8bn in 2025, Afreximbank report shows

Intra-African trade rose 5.47% to $213.8 billion in 2025, up from $202.7 billion the year before, according to the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank). The $11.1 billion increase was driven by stronger trade in Ethiopia, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia, while South Africa remained the continent's top trader, accounting for 19.2% of intra-African trade. South Africa imported $10.04 billion of African goods and exported $31.1 billion, unchanged from 2024. Côte d'Ivoire contributed 4.83% of the total, maintaining its role as a West African hub for cocoa, cashew, rubber and palm oil, and pushing ahead with local processing to move up the value chain.

For Nigeria, the report notes that crude oil remains the country's main export to African markets, but the operational launch of the Dangote Refinery is creating momentum toward refined product shipments. Afreximbank also highlighted a persistent $100 billion annual trade-finance gap that hampers the full potential of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), projecting that intra-African trade could double within ten years if the agreement is fully implemented.

What does this mean for Nigerian businesses and traders? With the Dangote Refinery coming online, there is a growing opportunity to shift from crude exports to higher-value refined products within the African market. Addressing the trade-finance gap—through better access to Afreximbank financing or other trade-finance tools—could help Nigerian exporters capture a larger share of the projected doubling of intra-African trade.

SOURCE: https://nairametrics.com/2026/06/25/afreximbank-intra-african-trade-rises-5-5-to-213-8-billion/