Palm Oil and Live Cattle: A Look at the Top 10 Foods Driving West Africa’s Intra-regional Trade

 Every day, countless trucks move across the borders of West Africa, loaded with goods. But what exactly is inside? A new 2025 report from the OECD, "Intra-regional Food Trade in West Africa," provides a clear answer. This trade is the lifeblood of the region's economy and ensures that food gets from where it's grown to where it's needed most.

While this trade is far larger than many assume: estimated to be a $10 billion industry that is up to 85% unrecorded, an important story is in the products themselves. The data reveals a diverse and sophisticated market that moves everything from high-value protein to essential cooking ingredients.

The Top 10 Most Traded Foods in West Africa

According to the OECD report, the trade between West African countries is dominated by a specific mix of goods. Here is the breakdown of the top 10 products by their share of the total trade value (2014-2022):

All "Other" food products, from fresh local vegetables to other grains, make up the remaining 34% of this massive trade.

Why These 10 Products Dominate the Market

This Top 10 list tells a clear story about the demands of West Africa's growing, urbanizing population and the strong, established trade networks built to meet them. The list can be broken into three key categories:

1. High-Value Proteins: The Market Leaders

It's no surprise that Live Cattle (15%), Frozen Fish (8%), and Live Sheep & Goats (3%) are in top 10.

• Live Animals: This represents a massive, well-established trade network, often moving livestock from the Sahelian countries to the major coastal cities, fulfilling a huge and constant demand for fresh protein.

• Frozen Fish: This trade is critical for bringing protein from coastal nations (like Senegal) to inland populations, demonstrating a sophisticated cold-chain logisics network.

2. Processed Essentials: The Demand for Convenience

The list shows that this trade is not just about raw farm goods. The high value of Palm Oil (15%), Flavour Cubes (7%), Instant Coffee (3%), and Pasta (3%) highlights a massive market for processed, value-added products.

• These goods are essential for daily cooking (palm oil, flavour cubes) and meet the demands of urban consumers who need shelf-stable, convenient food options.

3. Critical Staples: The Backbone of Food Security

Finally, staples like Maize (5%), Rice (4%), and Onions (3%) form the foundation of daily meals.

• This trade is essential for regional food security. It allows countries to cover domestic shortfalls and ensures year-round availability. For example, the report notes that seasonal trade in vegetables like onions and tomatoes is vital when the harvest ends in one country (like Ghana), imports from a neighbour (like Burkina Faso) fill the gap.

What This Product List Means for West Africa

Understanding what is being traded is the first step toward creating smarter policies. This list proves that intra-regional trade is a dynamic system that is essential for:

• Feeding the Region: The report estimates this trade in these products (and others) provides enough calories to feed nearly 80 million people.

• Driving Economic Growth: Demand for these specific products is fueling a commercial food economy, creating jobs for millions of farmers, processors, and traders across the region.

• Ensuring Food Availability: This product mix ensures dietary diversity and fills seasonal gaps that domestic production alone cannot.

  
  

By recognizing the central role of these top 10 products, West African leaders can better support the trade networks that are, in effect, the "hidden backbone" of the entire region's food system.

All data is sourced from the 2025 OECD report: "Intra-regional Food Trade in West Africa: New Evidence, New Perspectives".