Impact of Sub-Regional Integration on Regionalization and Volume of Agricultural Trade within the ECOWAS Sub-Region

Abstract

Economic Community of West African State (ECOWAS) regional trade agreement established long time ago was assessed to evaluate the level of agricultural products trade within the region. Specifically, the study was to: describe the volume and direction of trade; estimate the degree of ECOWAS regionalization; and assess the effects of ECOWAS regional characteristics on intra-ECOWAS trade of agricultural products. This was achieved by using analytical tools such as descriptive statistics, trade intensity index and gravity model. The results of intra-ECOWAS import and export of all agricultural products stood at 4.56 billion and 8.58 billion US dollars, which accounted for 6.38% and 15.46% of the total commodities, respectively. The trade intensity index results in terms of import indicated 41.9% values less than one while 57.1% had values greater than one for the period 2001 to 2011. In the case of export trade intensity index, the results was said to be fair with  49.5% had trade intensity index values less than one while about 49% paired countries had trade intensity index greater than one. Gravity equation regressions results indicated GDPs,   distance, infrastructure, contiguity, landlocked and usage of common official language as significant explanatory variables in the import trade in the region. The results suggested that the trade pattern in the region follows the economic size or resource endowment and obeys Linder’s theory. The study therefore recommends that emphasis be made in eliminating non-tariff barriers and re-formulation of trade policy that will harness more of resource endowment in the region.

Keywords: ECOWAS; Agricultural products; regionalization; trade agreement.