The final report of the SMART (Sustainable Market Access for African Road Transport) study published by the AfDB contains many references to the peculiarities and challenges facing Ethiopia’s logistics sector. The report analyses the main regulatory and non-physical barriers that impede a streamlined movement of vehicles and goods within and between the different Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in Africa; it also provides recommendations to increase the efficiency of cross-border road transport, to reduce its costs, and to maximize the economic benefits of the transport infrastructure, in view of reducing the cost of trading across borders.

Study background (extract): Road transportation is the primary mode of transport for goods in Africa, accounting for nearly 80% of the total traffic of goods, with peaks of more than 90% in some countries like Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia. Such a prevalence of road freight is partly explained by the fact that rail networks in several African countries have declined in significance, due in part to low investment and maintenance. Good road transport networks and the ability to transport goods efficiently from areas of production to areas of consumption are critical to intra-regional trade and economic development in Africa, where the average price of transport still represents 7.7% of total export value, which is twice the world average of 3.7%. Road transport cost can increase the final price of goods to consumers of one-fourth their value or even more, as such cost is normally transferred by carriers and shippers to their customers, so making products traded on destination markets uncompetitive.

Access the report here: