Africa’s trade structure shifted meaningfully over the past decade; not with dramatic swings, but with steady changes in export and import composition.

Minerals & Fuels remain central to Africa’s exports and the largest category overall, but this category contracted from 2014 (-1.2% CAGR), reflecting both the commodity price cycle and gradual diversification. By contrast, Metals (5.5%), Agricultural Goods (4.6%) and Food Products (4.1%) posted the strongest growth, driven by demand for base metals, copper and edible crops. Fertilisers supported a 3.5% CAGR growth in Chemicals, underscoring gains in downstream processing.

Import patterns indicate a continent that is consuming more, urbanising faster and integrating deeper into global supply chains as industrial and infrastructure investment expands. Minerals & Fuels was the largest import category, growing by 2%. Textiles (3.6%), Other Manufactured Goods (3.3%), and Food Products (3.1%) were the fastest-growing categories, driven by expanding household consumption, more varied food intake and demand for intermediate inputs.

These shifts do not yet signal a wholesale break from resource dependence, but they highlight gradual diversification and the steady pull of domestic markets.

Resources, consumer demand, food systems and digital infrastructure will drive Africa’s next decade of trade. Companies positioned to scale logistics, manufacturing inputs and agricultural value chains will be best placed to capture the continent’s emerging growth curve.