Tariff liberalisation under the African Continental Free Trade Area is proceeding slowly but steadily. The more consequential detail is buried in the rules of origin.
For processed agricultural goods, the question of how much local transformation is needed to qualify for preferential treatment will shape investment decisions across the continent.
Why it matters for processors
A Ghanaian cocoa processor exporting butter to Kenya, or a Beninese cashew processor selling kernels into Nigeria, must prove origin. The documentation burden falls disproportionately on small and medium enterprises.
Investors evaluating processing capacity should be modelling rules-of-origin compliance as an operating cost, not a footnote.
