Africa is a continent of
extremes – including crossborder
trade.
One of the most extreme cases
of a dysfunctional border must
be Kinshasa-Brazzaville, which
is currently
the third
largest urban
agglomeration
in Africa.
The Congo
river is all that
divides the
two adjacent
cities and the
Democratic
Republic of
Congo and
Congo from the Republic of
Congo.
It costs on average US$40 for
a return trip – or between 40
and 80% of the average monthly
income of residents.
“As a result passenger traffic
at this obvious focal point for
cross-border exchanges between
the two Congos is around five
times smaller than that between
East and West Berlin in 1988
– which was of course well
before the dismantling of the
Berlin Wall!”
says Anabel
Gonzalez,
senior director
of the World
Bank Group
Global Practice
on Trade and
Competitiveness.
Brulhart
and Hoppe in
their report
on “Economic
Integration in the Lower Congo
Region: Opening the Kinshasa-
Brazzaville Bottleneck” found
that only 1.12% of all imports
recorded by the Republic of
Congo (RC) came from the
Democratic Republic of Congo
(DRC).
According to the World
Bank’s “Linking African
Markets: Removing Barriers to
Intra-Africa Trade” report the
high cost of crossing the river is
due to monopolies in the ferry
services owned by the respective
governments.
“Cumbersome customs
procedures are also costly
and cause long delays for
both passengers and the
transportation of goods.
“For example, only four
agencies are mandated to be
present at the Kinshasa border
crossing, yet up to 17 agencies
operate there, raising fees from
traders and travellers without
offering any corresponding
services,” it adds.
“We all know of other
examples and evidence of the
high costs of intra-African
trade,” says Gonzalez.
“We estimate that intra-
African trade costs are around
50% higher than in East Asia,
and are the highest intraregional
costs in any developing
region.
“The result of these high costs
is that Africa has integrated
with the rest of the world faster
than with itself,” she says in a
statement.
FACT SHEET
Intra-Africa
trade costs
• 50% higher than
South East Asia
• The highest intra-regional
costs in any developing
region
INSERT
The result of these high
costs is that Africa has
integrated with the rest
of the world faster than
with itself.
