Moving goods from one country to another in Africa—a continent covering more than 30 million km²—remains today a far more complex operation than it may appear. The geographical configuration of the continent, marked by the presence of around 16 landlocked countries, requires goods to transit through multiple land corridors and successive borders. At each transit point, flows may be slowed by formalities, inspections, or specific administrative requirements, resulting in additional delays and costs.
It is precisely to remove these constraints that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) was established, with the ambition of creating a single market of 1.3 billion consumers and boosting intra-African trade. However, while this project is still in the process of being fully implemented, logistics operators must continue to navigate highly uneven operational realities. The ability to anticipate, secure and control customs operations therefore becomes a key performance factor for businesses.
In principle, the free movement of goods is based on a fiscal and regulatory mechanism. Within a single country, a product can circulate freely once it has paid the applicable duties and taxes, notably customs duties and VAT. These levies determine its entry into the territory and its access to the market.
Between several countries, agreements may be concluded to reduce or even eliminate such duties in order to facilitate trade. On a broader scale, these mechanisms structure free trade areas, where goods circulate with fewer tariff barriers. The objective is to stimulate trade and encourage value creation within regional economies. While this model is fully operational in other parts of the world, it is still being rolled out across the African continent, requiring logistics players to have a detailed understanding of local and regional regulatory frameworks.
Realities on the ground
In the absence of fully effective free movement, each border crossing can generate additional costs and delays, affecting the reliability of the supply chain.
According to Antonio Ramos, Customs Expert at AGL, despite progress made in certain regions, these constraints remain recurrent. The main obstacle to smooth trade flows lies in the lack of harmonization of procedures between countries. Customs administrations sometimes retain their own procedures, documentation requirements, and control modalities, meaning that a shipment compliant in one country may be blocked at the next border.
To mitigate these risks, AGL relies on integrated local customs expertise and on-the-ground teams in each country, trained in local regulatory specificities. These teams are able to anticipate friction points and adapt customs clearance schemes upstream of the flows.
In some cases, difficulties arise from differing interpretations of the rules. Trucks carrying strictly identical documents may be treated differently at the border, with some crossing immediately while others remain immobilised for several days.
Disputes over certificates of origin can also slow down flows. Even when documentation is complete, authorities may request additional checks, extending processing times.
This fragmentation is compounded by the multiplicity of stakeholders involved. Along a single corridor, a truck may be subject to several successive inspections—customs, police, phytosanitary services or local authorities—without effective coordination. Structural factors also play a role, such as congestion at certain border posts or insufficient logistics infrastructure.
Document management is another critical area.
To secure operations, AGL deploys automated pre-submission checks to ensure the accuracy and compliance of customs data. These measures, supported by integrated digital systems (electronic records and real-time dashboards), reduce the risk of non-compliance and provide end-to-end visibility across all files.
A regional integration still under construction
Africa relies on several regional economic communities—the ECOWAS in West Africa, the East African Community (EAC), COMESA, and SADC—whose objective is to facilitate trade between member states. AfCFTA fits into this dynamic, with the ambition of creating a unified continental framework.
In some regions, mechanisms are already in place. In West Africa, the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme theoretically allows certain products to circulate without customs duties or quotas, provided they meet specific rules of origin. Elsewhere, more operational forms of integration exist. In East Africa, for example, the Single Customs Territory provides for customs formalities to be processed in the destination country, with the aim of simplifying flows.
While these mechanisms represent tangible progress, their implementation remains uneven across countries and sectors. More broadly, several challenges persist. The complexity of agreements, the diversity of regulatory frameworks and delays in national-level adaptation slow down the harmonisation of practices.
“Free movement is not achieved through agreements alone. It is built through execution—through coordination, preparation and standardisation of operations,” stresses Antonio Ramos, while noting that some regions, such as East Africa and South Africa, are currently more advanced in terms of trade fluidity.
During this transition phase, companies must be able to rely on partners capable of managing customs regimes, mitigating risks and ensuring financial compliance—particularly through automated monitoring of duties and taxes and full traceability of flows.
According to him, market liberalisation and tax harmonisation are key levers to reduce bottlenecks.
Experience from other regions of the world shows that such transformations require time, investment and the gradual convergence of systems. For Africa, the challenge now is to turn political ambition into operational reality, so that the free movement of goods becomes an effective driver of competitiveness and economic integration.