West African trade: Informal food flows reach $10 billion annually

Informal trade serves as a major, yet largely unrecorded, driver of the West African economy. According to a 2025 OECD study, intra-regional food trade is estimated at approximately $10 billion annually, which is six times higher than official statistical figures. This economy is primarily driven by small-scale traders, many of whom are women, moving goods such as cereals, fish, vegetables, and textiles across borders.

Despite this significant volume, formal integration policies struggle to capture these flows. While institutional economic integration in Africa is progressing, a substantial portion of daily exchanges remains unmeasured and difficult to formalize.

In a related context of regional trade challenges, the economic relationship between Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal—the two largest economies in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA)—remains underdeveloped. During a visit to Abidjan, Senegalese Prime Minister Ahmadou Alhaminou Mohamed Lo noted that bilateral trade between the two nations stands at only 250 billion FCFA (approximately €380 million). This figure is considered marginal given that the two countries combined represent nearly two-thirds of the UEMOA's GDP. Barriers to increased trade include non-tariff obstacles, a lack of direct maritime links between Abidjan and Dakar, and high freight costs.