Recent publications

2026Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies

Technical measures and agri-food trade between traditional economic partners: emerging issues from the EU-Africa trade relations

Africa’s exports to the EU markets have been plummeting, which in part has been attributed to the applied technical measures that impact Africa’s sustainable economic development. However, the trade measures have stimulated the EU food export base to Africa. The intensiveness and extensiveness of the EU technical measures have a double-edged impact on Africa’s food system competitiveness. Thus, this study investigates Africa’s cocoa, coffee and vegetable export effects of the EU technical measures. The empirical strategy adopts an augmented gravity model derived from Melitz’s firm heterogeneous framework that measures the extent to which the exporting trade costs, such as the technical measures, affect the heterogeneous exporting firms’ market access. The findings suggest contrary outputs to the dominant contextual perspective that the EU trade policies adversely impact Africa’s agri-food trade competitiveness. This study proposes extensive investments in food system-related quality infrastructure and improved development finance to propel the sustainable transformation of the food system.

2025Journal of Trade Science

The Effects of Export-Facilitating Quality Infrastructure on Africa’s Exports

The continuous export challenges due to inadequate quality infrastructure have brought to the fore the importance of export facilitation-quality infrastructure. Different infrastructure investments have been implemented to facilitate export; however, the outcomes were different across export facilitation infrastructures. This study investigates Africa’s export effects of the implemented export-facilitating quality infrastructure. An augmented gravity model is specified that is derived from the Helpman, Melitz and Rubenstein framework, which has two steps in the specification and estimation of the model. The extensive margin is the first step – the probability of export – while the second step is the intensive margin of export – the actual export values or volumes. The main drivers of the decision to export are telecommunication infrastructure, internet usage and the logistics performance index. At the intensive margin of export, exporting time, the proliferation of telecommunication infrastructure and improvement in the logistics performance index significantly improve the intensity of export, while it is not the case for internet infrastructure usage. Thus, the soft-quality infrastructure has mixed outcomes at both export margins, while the hard-quality infrastructure is insufficient and ineffective for export facilitation, which invalidates the study’s hypothesis that export-facilitating quality infrastructure stimulates exports.

2025International Journal of Economic Policy Studies

The Effects of the European Union Trade Policies on Africa: Evidence from Africa’s Domestic and the EU Markets

Trade policies and practices are characterized by the economic, political and socio-cultural philosophy of the implementing country. The EU is Africa’s largest agri-food trade partner but Africa’s exports to this market have plummeted which in part has been attributed to the export quality and market access conditions. However, the EU agri-food export base to Africa has been increasing. The extensiveness of these agri-food exports could impact Africa’s agri-food system competitiveness. Simultaneously, the inability of Africa’s commodities exports to intensively access the EU markets due to the technical measures has implications for Africa’s sustainable economic growth. Thus, this study investigates Africa’s commodity and export effects of the EU trade policies. The empirical findings suggest a contrary result to the dominant contextual perspective that the EU trade policy adversely impacts Africa’s commodities …

2025International Economics and Economic Policy

The Determinants of Export Promotion in Africa: Evidence from the Implemented Trade Facilitation Measures

The export flow bottlenecks impact the extensiveness and intensiveness of Africa’s exports to its trade partners. These bottlenecks are influenced by supply chain disruptions, administrative inefficiencies, quality infrastructure deficiencies, customs procedures’ inefficacies, a proliferation of trade documentation, etc. The preponderance of these bottlenecks brought to the fore the need to improve exports through trade facilitation policies. Several trade facilitation measures have been implemented with different export outcomes. Nevertheless, the opportunities characterising the implementation of trade facilitation measures have provided the necessary impetus for many African countries to embark on export promotion. This study investigates the determinants of the implemented trade facilitation measures in Africa from the perspective of extensive and intensive margins of exports.

Recent Publications

Technical measures and agri-food trade between traditional economic partners: emerging issues from the EU-Africa trade relations

Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies

Pages 1-21

Publisher: Emerald

Description

Geostrategic aspects of policies on food security in the light of recent global tensions–Insights from seven countries

Authors Bettina Rudloff, Kristina Mensah, Christine Wieck, Olayinka Kareem, Jose Ma Luis Montesclaros, David Orden, Neils Sonddergaard, Wusheng Yu

Publication date: 2024/4/1

Description

This study contributes to the recent literature on geostrategic aspects of economic policy and the objective of economic security by addressing food security as a subcategory within economic security. Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 crisis and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, this study analyses whether and how the relevance of food security as a national policy goal has changed. It focuses on the questions of whether countries’ policy choices towards this objective have initiated longer-term strategic shifts, rather than just acute reactions, and analyses the extent to which these adjustments are influenced by underlying geopolitical considerations. To answer these questions, developments in food security policies are identified, focusing primarily on the perspective of security of supply. This perspective fits with the recent political focus and current initiatives by many countries aiming at national economic and supply security in general.

The determinants of export promotion in Africa: evidence from the implemented trade facilitation measures

Description

The Effects of Export-Facilitating Quality Infrastructure on Africa’s Exports

Journal of Trade Science

Volume 13, No. 5

Pages 65-84

Publisher Emerald

Description

Fruit safety regulations in the transatlantic region: how are Africa’s exports faring with the regulations?

Journal of Policy Modeling

Volume 44

Issue 5

Pages 886-902

Publisher North-Holland

Description

The regulations of fruit trade for safe consumption are taken seriously in the EU and US markets to protect the health of the consumers, animals, plants and environmental safety, and thereby reduce health expenditures. The fruit safety regulations as trade policy measures could be either trade-promoting or -impeding. The extensiveness and intensiveness of fruit safety regulations in these markets often have consequences for exporters from Africa and their desire to attain sustainable economic development. The effects of fruit safety regulations are heterogeneous across economic agents. To this end, many stakeholders in Africa’s food system have perceived compliance with these food regulatory measures as necessary conditions to access the developed countries’ markets, particularly in the EU and US. Besides, the competitiveness of Africa’s fruit exports has been impacted by the preponderance of the measures …