Free trade agreements move on paper. Logistics determines whether trade actually moves.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is often presented as a historic political achievement. For logistics professionals, however, its real significance lies elsewhere. AfCFTA is not just a trade framework; it is a pressure test for Africa’s regional logistics systems.
Tariff reductions and harmonized rules create expectations of increased intra-African trade. But expectations alone do not move goods. Trucks, ports, borders, and warehouses do.
Trade Liberalisation Meets Physical Constraints
AfCFTA aims to simplify trade across borders, yet African logistics remains constrained by geography, infrastructure, and operational fragmentation. Moving goods regionally often involves multiple border crossings, inconsistent procedures, and uneven corridor performance.
In this context, AfCFTA does not remove complexity — it exposes it. As trade volumes increase, existing weaknesses in transport and customs systems become more visible and more costly.
Logistics Becomes the Differentiator
One of AfCFTA’s most immediate effects is the shift in competitive dynamics. When tariffs fall, logistics performance gains importance. Speed, reliability, and cost efficiency begin to differentiate suppliers more than price alone.
Companies able to organize regional warehousing, consolidate flows, and navigate cross-border transport gain an advantage. Those relying on inefficient corridors or unpredictable border processes face higher costs and longer lead times, despite preferential trade rules.
Uneven Benefits Across the Continent
AfCFTA does not impact all regions equally. Countries with established corridors, functional ports, and relatively efficient customs administrations are better positioned to benefit. Others struggle to translate policy into movement.
This imbalance risks reinforcing existing trade patterns rather than transforming them. Regional logistics integration, not legal harmonization alone, becomes the deciding factor.
Borders as the Real Test of Integration
Nowhere is AfCFTA’s impact more tangible than at border posts. While tariffs may be reduced, delays caused by inspections, documentation inconsistencies, and limited operating hours persist.
For logistics operators, border efficiency remains the single most important variable in regional trade. AfCFTA raises expectations, but execution at borders determines outcomes.
AfCFTA Seen Through a Supply Chain Lens
From a logistics perspective, AfCFTA shifts the conversation from “Can we trade?” to “Can we deliver?”. It forces companies, governments, and logistics providers to confront operational realities long ignored.
The agreement’s success will not be measured by signed protocols, but by whether trucks cross borders faster, inventory circulates regionally, and supply chains scale beyond national markets.
SupplyChainAfrika.com
Explaining African trade through logistics realities.