Cemac Seeks to Bring Informal Cross-Border Trade Into Official Data
The Cemac Commission is developing a system to collect data on informal cross-border trade, seeking to improve the accuracy of trade statistics across Central Africa. As part of this effort, a regional workshop is being held in Douala from March 16 to 19, 2026. The meeting aims to train national experts on data collection tools and monographic studies designed to identify border crossing points, map trade flows, and estimate informal import and export transactions. Around 50 participants are attending, including representatives from national statistics institutes, customs administrations, and trade ministries from the six Cemac countries. Informal cross-border trade remains a significant but poorly documented part of regional commerce. According to Marc Roland Lontchi, director of statistics at the Cemac Commission, much of the activity of small traders takes place through land routes, making it difficult to capture in official data. “We need to gather this information to understand the flows and design policies to support these actors,” he said. The lack of reliable data complicates efforts to assess the true level of economic integration and the evolution of trade within the subregion. By introducing a ...
2026-03-19 15:45:27