Introduction

Global trade is advancing as sustainability concerns move from the periphery to be considered among the factors affecting market access requirements. For Africa, this shift presents both unprecedented opportunities and formidable challenges. The continent’s micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), who form the backbone of African economies, are increasingly confronted by a proliferation of sustainability standards. While these standards can serve as powerful tools for sustainable development and market integration, the insertion of varied norms, standards and procedures into policy frameworks can often act as a barrier to trade disproportionately affecting MSMEs.

This piece discusses green trade and sustainability standards, highlighting the various mechanisms by which a multiplicity of relevant measures can create trade barriers for MSMEs. This analysis focuses on the agricultural sector, with the intention of advancing ongoing conversations that contribute to the establishment of a single African market, in line with the objectives of the AfCFTA. The piece highlights Eco-Mark Africa’s role in offering a partial solution, examines the limitations of harmonisation alone, and the role of the AfCFTA framework. The analysis argues for a combined approach that includes, inter alia mutual recognition agreements (MRAs), and capacity-building for the relevant actors in the region. The piece concludes by emphasizing that, when properly designed and implemented, standards can be enabling tools for African integration and for promoting regional value chains, but this is only one piece of a rather complicated puzzle that is far from completion.