A report published on 9 November 2026 by the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) reveals the scale of untapped commercial potential between Africa and the Caribbean. Presented on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua and Barbuda, the document — based on a survey of 1,175 businesses across both regions — offers an unprecedented picture of these underdeveloped economic flows.
A $1.65 billion opportunity still largely unrealised
According to the report, annual trade in goods and services between Africa and the Caribbean could reach up to $1.65 billion by 2030, excluding mineral fuels. Yet Africa currently realises only 20% of its export potential to the Caribbean, estimated at $539 million a year. The Caribbean, by contrast, has already realised 82% of its potential towards Africa, amounting to $499 million in annual exports.
Priority sectors include processed food, chemicals, minerals, apparel and textiles, tourism and the creative industries. South Africa, Algeria and Nigeria together account for nearly 60% of African exports to the Caribbean region.
Structural barriers to overcome
Neither region has preferential access to the other, exposing both sides to high tariffs. Freight costs are also prohibitive: 19.8% ad valorem for African exports to the Caribbean. The core obstacle, the report notes, is not a lack of economic complementarity but barriers around market access, connectivity, information and institutional capacity. The report was also published a day after the announcement of South Africa's exclusion from the US AGOA programme, adding further pressure on the continent to diversify its trade relationships.
Why it matters
For the Indian Ocean economies — Mauritius, Réunion, Madagascar, the Comoros and the Seychelles — this report is a strategic reminder: Caribbean markets remain largely untapped even as South-South trade grows elsewhere. Exporters in the region should examine the priority sectors identified, particularly agri-food, premium textiles and tourism services, where complementarity with the Caribbean is genuine.