The Rapid Growth of African-Asian Trade 1990–2005 Africa’s imports from Asia have also grown. However, they have grown less rapidly than exports, allowing African countries to substantially reduce their overall trade deficit, which amounted to as much as 50 percent of their total trade value with Asia in the early s. The rapid growth in Africa’s exports has created financial space for Africa to import. The average annual growth rate of Africa’s imports from Asia was 13 percent between 1990 and 1995, and accelerated to 18 percent between 2000 and. Africa imports one-third of its total imports from Asia, second only to the EU. 8 It is easy to see how much the growth of Africa’s exports to Asia has been demand-driven by looking at how the relative share of exports to Asia in overall African exports to the world has shifted overtime. Africa’s export growth to Asia has surpassed that to all other regions over the last decade. Although exports to the EU and the United States grew much more rapidly between 2000 and 2005 than they did between 1990 and 1995, the growth rate of exports to Asia was 20 percent during the last five years (figure, which is higher than that of exports to any other region during the same period. Asia is now the third most important export destination, with a share of 27 percent of Africa’s total exports in 2005, lagging only the EU percent) and the United States (29 percent. Africa’s exports to Asia, as a share of its total exports, have increased from a mere 9 percent into percent, while exports to its traditional markets among the EU countries have decreased from around 48 percent to 32 percent. 9 Asia has become a significant trade partner for Africa in imports as well as exports over the last 15 years. As shown in figure 2.11, the average annual growth rate of Africa’s imports from Asia was 13 percent between and 1995, and accelerated to 18 percent between 2000 and Africa imported 33 percent of its total imports from Asia in 2005, second 02-Chap2:02-Chap2 10/9/06 2:41 PM Page 70
