ADDIS ABABA, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Timely data collection on informal cross-border trade is critical to informing intra-African trade on the back of the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement, the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) has said.
Despite its importance to the livelihoods of millions of Africans, informal trade is not well understood on the continent, the UNECA said in a statement issued late Monday.
The UNECA estimated informal cross-border trade to be equivalent to between 7 and 16 percent of all formal intra-African trade flows and between 30 and 72 percent of formal trade between neighboring countries.
"Despite its significant contribution to the economy, informal cross-border trade remains largely undocumented," a UNECA statement quoted Stephen Karingi, director of regional integration and trade at the UNECA, as saying during a recent high-level meeting that reviewed and validated the continental methodology for informal cross-border data collection in Africa.
Karingi noted that current efforts to collect data on informal cross-border trade within the continent, were largely fragmented and unsystematic.
He said informal cross-border trade is a key feature of Africa's trade landscape.
According to the UNECA, definitions and methodologies used by various African countries and organizations often differ, leading to challenges in comparability of available data, as well as integration into the formal trade statistics.
"True to the saying that what is not defined cannot be measured. What is not measured, cannot be improved," said Karingi. He said the dearth of reliable and regular data on informal cross-border trade has contributed to minimal recognition of its important role in policy frameworks.
"Accurate trade statistics are an important input into national accounts and balance of payments statistics and can also help improve econometric forecasting models for key macroeconomic variables," said Karingi.
The continental methodology for informal cross-border trade data collection was validated by experts from regional economic communities, national statistics offices from 29 African Union members, financial institutions, cross-border traders associations and academia, the UNECA said. ■
