Togo: Intra-Africa trade and

tariff profile

No. 16
2018
TRADE DATA UPDATE

This Trade Data Update provides an overview of Togo’s intra-African trade relationships, both within the Regional
Economic Communities (RECs) and with other individual African countries; the top import and export products
traded; and applicable tariffs. Data is sourced from the UN International Trade Centre (ITC) TradeMap and World
Trade Organisation (WTO) Tariff databases. The update is accompanied by a visual representation of key data
and trends in an infographic.

Regional Economic Communities

Togo belongs to two regional economic communities (RECs) – the Economic Community of West African States
(ECOWAS) and the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD). ECOWAS currently has 15 member states
(Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger,
Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo). All 15 countries are part of the ECOWAS Free Trade Area and all, but
Cape Verde, are in the process of implementing the ECOWAS Common External Tariff (CET). The ECOWAS Trade
Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS) facilitates the free movement of goods through the region. Intra-ECOWAS goods
that qualify for duty-free and quota-free access are unprocessed goods, traditional handicrafts and certain
industrial products of ECOWAS origin. To benefit from the Scheme producers in member states must apply for
approval and if granted will be issued the Certificate of Origin granting specified products duty-free and quota-
free access to the ECOWAS market. In 2017, Mauritania and ECOWAS signed an Association Agreement for the
re-admission of Mauritania to the REC by 2019. Morocco’s application to join ECOWAS has been granted ‘in
principle’, but is awaiting final approval, and Tunisia has recently obtained ECOWAS observer status. Qualifying
imports from approved ECOWAS producers are imported duty-free into Togo and Togo does apply the ECOWAS
CET on imports from outside the REC.

CEN-SAD currently has 24 member states (Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Ivory
Coast, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria,

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 Togo: Intra-Africa trade and tariff profile
Trade Data Update, Issue No. 16 | September 2018

Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo and Tunisia) and is aspiring to establish an Economic Union which
includes the free movement of goods, services and factors of production. In 2013, a revised CEN-SAD Treaty was
approved, aimed at revitalising the region. However, the Revised Treaty is yet to be ratified by the prerequisite
quorum required for entry into force; consequently, there is currently no free trade agreement in place.

Intra-Africa trade

In 2017, Togo exported and imported goods to and from the rest of Africa to the value of US$513 million and
US$277 million, respectively. Intra-Africa exports accounted for 69% of Togo’s total exports and imports for 17%
of total imports in 2017.

Table 1: Togo’s intra-Africa export and import products (2017)

Intra-Africa export products Intra-Africa import products

% total % total
HS 2017 HS 2017
Product description intra-Africa Product description intra-Africa
codes (US$m) codes (US$m)
exports imports
2523 Cement 94.63 18.41% 2701 Coal 29.48 10.61%

3923 Plastic packaging 60.93 11.85% 0303 Frozen fish 23.83 8.58%
Beauty, make-up or skin
3304 51.69 10.06% 2710 Petroleum oils 22.83 8.21%
care preparations
8711 Motorcycles 28.50 5.55% 2523 Cement 17.75 6.39%
Hot-rolled iron or non-alloy
1511 Palm oil 27.83 5.42% 7214 12.46 4.48%
steel bars and rods
2202 Waters 26.81 5.22% 2711 Petroleum gas 9.70 3.49%
Concentrated or sweetened
0402 22.74 4.42% 1101 Wheat or meslin flour 9.28 3.34%
milk and cream
Wigs, false beards, Casks, drums, cans, boxes
6704 17.05 3.32% 7612 9.16 3.30%
eyebrows and eyelashes and similar containers
Cigars, cheroots, cigarillos
Plaits and similar products
4601 13.74 2.67% 2402 and cigarettes of tobacco or 7.83 2.82%
of plaiting materials
of tobacco substitutes
2710 Petroleum oils 11.65 2.27% 2009 Fruit juices 7.58 2.73%

Source: ITC TradeMap (2018). tralac calculations

• Togo mainly exports cement (18%), plastic packaging (12%) and beauty and skin care preparations (10%)
to the rest of Africa. The top 10 intra-Africa export products accounts for 69% of Togo’s total exports to
other African countries.

• Togo’s main intra-Africa import products are coal, frozen fish, petroleum oils and cement. The top 10
products Togo imports from the rest of Africa accounts for 54% of Togo’s total intra-Africa imports.

• In terms of total trade (exports + imports), Burkina Faso (18% of total trade) and Ghana (16% of total
trade) are Togo’s main trading partners. Ghana is both an important destination market (for exports of

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dement clinkers, beauty products and palm oil) and source country (for imports of bars and rods, wheat,
butanes and undenatured ethyl alcohol).

• Other trading partners include Benin (15% of total trade), Nigeria (11%) and Ivory Coast (10%).

• The main destination markets for Togo’s intra-Africa exports are Burkina Faso (26%), Benin (21%) and
Ghana (11%).

• Togo mainly sources intra-Africa imports from Ghana (24%), Nigeria (17%), South Africa (15%) and Ivory
Coast (13%).

Intra-Africa import tariffs

Togo prescribes to the ECOWAS ETLS enabling all qualifying goods sourced from approved producers in the other
ECOWAS member states to be imported into Togo duty-free. Goods imported from CEN-SAD countries, which
are not ECOWAS member states (including Egypt, Morocco, Somalia and Tunisia) and the rest of Africa are levied
the MFN applied duty. The MFN applied duty of Togo is the ECOWAS CET.

The ECOWAS CET has five tariff bands – 0%, 5%, 10%, 20% and 35% and there are no specific import duties. The
35% tariff is applicable to numerous tariff lines, including meat and edible offal of bovine, swine and poultry;
sausages; sugar confectionery not containing cocoa; cocoa powder and chocolate, yoghurt and waters.

Various products are imported free of duty, including medicaments (HS30), orthopaedic appliances (HS9021),
printed paper materials (unused postage, newspaper, books, music manuscripts, maps and children’s drawings),
petroleum oils (HS2709) and laboratory cultures and reagents (HS3821 and 3822).

Table 2: Togo’s imports from Africa excluding ECOWAS countries

HS 2017 Applicable
Product description
Code (US$m) tariffs
270119 Coal 29.48 5%

030319 Frozen Salmonidae 7.22 10%

721391 Hot-rolled iron or non-ally steel bars and rods 5.35 5%

030389 Frozen fish, not elsewhere specified 4.60 10%

330210 Mixtures of odoriferous substances 3.63 10%

390210 Polypropylene, in primary forms 3.08 5%

902830 Electricity supply or production meters 2.54 10%

390120 Polyethylene 2.44 5%

870421 Goods vehicles 2.06 8%

030369 Frozen fish of the families Bregmacerotidae, Euclichthyidae, Gadidae etc 1.51 10%

Source: ITC TradeMap (2018) and WTO Tariff Database (2018)

31% of Togo’s intra-Africa imports are from countries outside ECOWAS. The main supplying countries are South
Africa (48%), Mauritania (14%), Morocco (12%) and Mozambique (11%) (these countries account for 84% of
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Trade Data Update, Issue No. 16 | September 2018

Togo’s intra-Africa imports sourced from outside ECOWAS). South Africa mainly exports coal, hot-rolled bars and
rods, polypropylene and polyethylene to Togo. None of the top 20 import products are imported duty-free.

The import duties applicable to the main products imported from outside ECOWAS range between 5% and 20%.
3 tariff lines at the HS6 level face 15% duties (ethylene polymer plates and passenger vehicles) and 4 tariff lines
20% duties (prepared and preserved sardines, sacks and bags, couscous and iron or steel articles not elsewhere
specified). Togo mainly imports coal from outside ECOWAS at a 5% duty, followed by frozen Salmonidae (10%
tariff), hot-rolled bars and rods (5% tariff), frozen fish not elsewhere specified (10% tariff) and mixtures of
odoriferous substances (beverage additive) (10% tariff).