The African Continental Free trade Area (AfCFTA) has created an opportunity for truckers, airlines and other players in the logistics and transportation sector.

About 2.2 million trucks, valued at $345 billion, will be needed for trade facilitation under the AfCFTA between now and 2045, according to the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).

Similarly, 243 aircraft, valued at $25 billion, will be required, with 169,000 rail wagons estimated at $36 billion needed for the continental trade.

Also, more than 130 vessels, valued at $4 billion, will be required to trade under the AfCFTA, Afreximbank said.

“Road, rail, air, and maritime infrastructure are inadequate,” said Gain more Zanamwe, director of trade facilitation and investment promotion, Afreximbank, said at a roadshow in Lagos on Monday.

“Most of the intra-African trade – about 77 percent – is done by road, and this needs to change,” he further said.

He noted that Nigeria is not playing in vehicle market due to a cacophony of poor policies.

“I have had conversations with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). They said why they are not in Nigeria is because of lack of a comprehensive auto policy. If Nigeria fixes the policy, the country can surpass what South Africa is doing,” he noted.

The AfCFTA creates access to a market of 1.4 billion people or $3.4 billion. It also provides an opportunity for Africans to trade with each other and tap from continent’s resources.

Africa’s trade with each other stands at merely 15 percent as against Europe’s 60 percent -70 percent, Asia’s 50 percent -60 percent and North America’s 40 percent.

“We need an ‘Africa-First mentality,” said Kanayo Awani, executive vice president, intra-African trade and export development, Afreximbank, stressing the need for Africans to deepen trade with each other.

The World Bank says the AfCFTA offers a promising opportunity to revive stagnant investment and development.

According to World Bank research, fully implementing the AfCFTA Aagreement could drive intra-Africa FDI by 68 percent and external investment by 122 percent.

“But the devil is in the details: to achieve these gains, countries need to implement the AfCFTA Agreement and its protocols, including the Investment Protocol.

“Drawing on regional integration successes in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the European Union (EU), we know it is imperative to proactively initiate and organize efforts to implement investment reforms,” the World Bank noted.

Nonye Ayeni, chief executive of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), said Africa needs to move beyond the fragmented trade units existing today. She said a nation like Nigeria must begin to produce to export to Africa’s large market.

“Everything needed to produce electric cars could be obtained here. From lithium to rubber, we do not need to import them. We have the tool to bridge the trade gap through collaboration, commitment and cooperation.”

Nigeria’s non-oil export sector recorded a 24.75 percent increase in the first quarter (Q1) of 2025, compared to the same period in 2024.

Non-oil products valued at $1.791 billion were exported between January and March 2025, up from $1.436 billion in the first quarter of 2024.

Cocoa beans accounted for 45.02 percent of total non-oil exports, while urea/fertilizer ranked second with 19.32 percent, with cashew nuts coming third with 5.81 percent.

However, these are agro-based products and insignificant when compared with other emerging markets.

Bangladesh’s exports hit $50 billion in 2024, driven by manufactured goods such as ready-made garments (RMG), jute and jute products, frozen fish and seafood, and leather and leather products, official data said.

Vietnam achieved a record export turnover of $405.53 billion, representing a 14.3 percent increase compared to the previous year.

Malaysia’s exports rose by 4.8 percent to $263.1 billion in 2024, with manufactured goods accounting for 86 percent of its total exports, , according to the nation’s MATRADE.

“It is time we began to think of what we can sell. What value chain can I play in, and what can we do? The world is watching,” said Jumoke Oduwole, minister of industry, trade and investment. (BusinessDay)