The Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa is developing a new system to measure informal cross-border trade, in a bid to improve the accuracy of trade statistics and strengthen economic policymaking across Central Africa.
The initiative comes as informal trade largely driven by small-scale traders moving goods across land borders continues to account for a significant but poorly documented share of regional commerce.
As part of the effort, the CEMAC Commission held a regional workshop in Douala from March 16 to 19, bringing together around 50 experts from national statistics offices, customs administrations and trade ministries across the bloc’s six member states.
Participants were trained on new data collection tools and methodologies, including monographic studies designed to identify border crossing points, map trade flows and estimate the value of informal imports and exports.
“We need to gather this information to understand the flows and design policies to support these actors,” said Marc Roland Lontchi, director of statistics at the CEMAC Commission.
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Informal cross-border trade remains difficult to quantify due to its largely unregulated nature and the reliance on land routes, where transactions often bypass official customs channels. This has created persistent gaps in national accounts and regional trade data, complicating efforts to assess economic integration within Central Africa.
By introducing a harmonised monitoring system, CEMAC aims to close this information gap and provide governments with more reliable data to guide trade policy and border management.
The issue is particularly acute in Cameroon, which shares more than 4,500 kilometres of land borders with neighbouring countries. The porous nature of many crossing points, combined with limited customs capacity, has contributed to the scale of unrecorded exchanges.
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According to Cameroon’s national statistics institute, informal cross-border trade resulted in a deficit of 50.72 billion CFA francs (around $84 million) in 2024 in the country’s trade with its neighbours.
Officials say improving data collection is not only about statistical accuracy, but also about gaining a clearer picture of real trade balances and economic activity in border regions.
Under its National Development Strategy 2030, Cameroon has identified the monitoring of informal trade flows as a strategic priority, linking it to broader goals of economic planning and revenue mobilisation.
“We are ready to assist other countries in implementing a tracking system,” said Christelle Tchoua, representing Cameroon’s statistics institute at the Douala workshop.
Across the region, informal trade plays a vital role in livelihoods, particularly for women and small-scale entrepreneurs who depend on cross-border commerce for income. However, the lack of reliable data has made it difficult for policymakers to design targeted support measures or fully capture the sector’s contribution to national economies.
Analysts say better measurement could also have important fiscal implications. By refining external trade statistics, governments may be able to improve estimates of gross domestic product and broaden their tax base, even if much of the activity remains outside formal channels.
The new system is expected to standardise data collection practices across CEMAC countries, allowing for more consistent reporting and comparison of trade flows within the subregion.
Beyond statistics, officials say the initiative could help improve border management, reduce illicit trade and support the gradual formalisation of small-scale cross-border activities.
For CEMAC, the move reflects a growing recognition that informal trade, long overlooked in official data, must be better understood if the region is to deepen economic integration and strengthen its development planning.
