West Africa recorded exports valued at more than US $166 billion in 2024, marking continued regional growth, according to comments from Nigeria’s Foreign Minister, Yusuf Tuggar, at the recently concluded West Africa Economic Summit (WAES) in Abuja. Despite this figure, the minister stressed that only 8.6 per cent of that trade remained within “our borders.”
According to Nairametrics, the minister stressed that aside from relevant data on West Africa’s exported goods, imports follow the same pattern, heavily tilted towards partners outside the continent. “Let us not forget that in 2024, West Africa exported goods valued at over $166 billion. Yet only 8.6 per cent of that trade remained within our borders. “Machinery and manufactured goods from China, India, the United States, and the European Union dominate our import flows, while we continue to export unprocessed raw materials,” he said. He highlighted, however, that this trajectory and issue is not just capacity, but orientation.
- He said that as governments, states, and the region, there is a need to do more to make it easy to bring activity within the formal sector, to bring with it the economies of scale and other efficiencies that will accelerate growth and help entrepreneurs.
- He observed that the informal sector has found ways to deliver what the market wants, thereby bypassing borders and regulations when they are too slow and bureaucratic.
At the event, President Bola Tinubu called for strengthening regional value chains across West Africa to boost the low level of intra-regional trade in the area. He noted that intra-regional trade in West Africa remains under 10%, a challenge stakeholders can no longer afford to ignore. President Tinubu explained that the low trade in the sub-region is not due to a failure of will but rather “a coordination failure.”
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Nigeria has witnessed a major shift in its trade dynamics, with Africa emerging as the country’s largest export destination in 2024. In Q4 2024, Nigeria’s exports to Africa stood at N2,042.06 billion or 10.20% of the total exports; out of which, goods exported to ECOWAS countries were valued at N1,175.44 billion or 57.56% of the total exports to Africa, according to NBS. Africa collectively took the lead as Nigeria’s largest regional export market in 2024, accounting for N8.74 trillion in exports.
WAES 2025 is an initiative of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, implemented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is envisioned to serve as a high-level platform for strategic dialogue and regional cooperation. With the theme, “Unlocking Trade and Investment Opportunities in the Region,” the Summit aims to deepen economic cooperation, facilitate cross-border investment, and accelerate sustainable development across key sectors such as trade, energy, agriculture, infrastructure, digital finance, and regional integration.
The summit featured the gathering of Heads of State and Government from Benin Republic, Liberia, Sierra Leone, senior policymakers, business leaders, development institutions, and youth innovators from across the West African sub-region.
