ABSTRACT

Africa’s trade has remained stubbornly dependent, since decolonisation, on a few commodities exported to a few markets. Now the global economy is in the throes of a great transformation. Increasing from 17 percent of world GDP in 1950 to 39 percent in 2016, the rise of the emerging market economies has the potential to transform Africa’s trade. Yet, in practice, while their rise has expanded the markets to which Africa exports, it has tended to reinforce and exacerbate Africa’s dependency on extractive exports. This chapter considers these changes, their implications and a little of what the future may hold for Africa’s trade and a changing trade landscape.