On the impact of non-tariff measures on trade performances of the African agri-food sector

Abstract

The increasing interest of policymakers and academics on non-tariff measures (NTMs) has stimulated a growing literature on their effects on agri-food trade of African countries. The empirical evidence, however, are ambiguous: some studies suggest that NTMs are trade barriers, others suggest they have a catalyst role for trade. Understanding the drivers of these contrasting effects and the prevailing one would allow to draw important conclusions. We review, through a meta-analytical approach, a set of empirical studies that quantify the effects of NTMs on African agri-food trade. We find a prevalence of the trade-impeding effects. Our results also help explaining differences in NTMs' effects due to methodological and structural heterogeneity. Moreover the effects of NTMs vary across types of NTMs and analysed commodities. We conclude by comparing our findings with existing literature and emphasize which research areas deserve further investigation such as intra-Africa trade or trade effects of technical NTMs.

Trade Costs and Demand-Enhancing Effects of Agrifood Standards: Consequences for Sub-Saharan Africa

“…5 For a detailed review, see Santeramo and Lamonaca (2019b). 6 Xiong and Beghin (2014) measured NTMs as maximum residue limits.…”

Africa in global agricultural trade

“…Moreover, for the EU, the United States, and Brazil, the number of products affected by NTMs is generally higher than for African countries. Indeed, the mounting and more stringent NTMs may challenge exports of African countries, especially measures related to product quality and health safety (Santeramo and Lamonaca 2019). For instance, according to Kalaba and Kirsten (2012), for the Southern African Development Community (SADC), most of the SPS measures are imposed on fruits (that can carry insects or pesticides), meat and dairy products (that can contain bacteria such as salmonella and listeria), and livestock (to limit the spread of various diseases).…”

Products Mapping' and Agri-Food Trade between Nigeria and ECOWAS Member Countries

“…This slight structural shift is in line with overall tendencies in agri-food trade of African countries. The economic globalisation in commodity chains contributed to the rapid growth of agri-food exports and structural changes in the composition of agri-food trade (Henson et al 2000;Maertens and Swinnen, 2009) and many African countries moved the composition of agri-food exports from traditional (coffee, tea, sugar, cocoa) to non-traditional and high value (fruit and vegetables, poultry, fish) commodities (Santeramo and Lamonaca, 2019). Products in Group B (has a comparative advantage but a net-importer) shows that the number of products and its share on total exports fluctuated over time.…”