Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 8 July 2025 - The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) has urged governments to scale up support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the agricultural sector through targeted and sustainable trade facilitation measures. This call was made by Mr. Melaku Desta, Acting Director of ECA’s Regional Integration and Trade Division, during the global launch of the 2025 United Nations Global Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation held on 8 July 2025.
“Enhanced efforts in implementing specific trade facilitation measures, particularly trade facilitation measures for SMEs and agricultural trade facilitation, are crucial considering that SMEs and agriculture are the backbone of most African economies,” said Mr. Desta. “This is particularly important in the context of the imperative for successful implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).”
According to the sixth edition of the UN Global Survey, Africa recorded a notable 6.8 percentage point increase in the implementation of overall trade facilitation measures, from 55.6 per cent in 2023 to 62.4 per cent in 2025. The highest implementation rates are observed in the Southern and Eastern Africa regions, reflecting ongoing regional efforts to streamline and digitize trade-related processes.
Globally, the Survey found that while overall implementation rose to 70 per cent, progress on sustainable trade facilitation measures—including those aimed at women traders, SMEs, and the agricultural sector—remains limited.
Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) which coordinated the Global Survey, observed: “The global trading environment has recently faced unprecedented challenges. Extensive tariff measures have introduced uncertainty and increased trade costs, while broader disruptions have exposed vulnerabilities in global supply chains. These trends underscore the urgent need to enhance the efficiency, transparency and resilience of international trade systems.”
The Survey confirms strong performance by developed economies (86%), followed by South-East and East Asia (81%), while countries in the Pacific region recorded the lowest implementation rate (45%). Improvements were particularly significant in areas such as cross-border paperless trade, legal frameworks for e-transactions, and digital authentication—signalling growing global momentum toward digitized trade.
Meanwhile, regional frameworks such as the AfCFTA, including its newly adopted protocol on digital trade and its annexes, are believed to become instrumental in advancing inclusive and sustainable trade in Africa once they are ratified.
This year’s Survey also introduces new measures on cross-border e-commerce and green trade facilitation, reflecting the growing need to align trade with environmental goals amid escalating climate challenges.
The UN Global Survey is jointly conducted by five UN Regional Commissions—the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), and the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA)—alongside UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD). It aims to help countries identify implementation gaps and set priorities for policy action. Covering 180 countries, the Survey provides a comprehensive and comparative analysis of 62 trade facilitation measures worldwide. It is coordinated by ESCAP, and the latest data and interactive dashboards are available at https://untfsurvey.org.
Issued by:
Communications Section
Economic Commission for Africa
PO Box 3001
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
Tel: +251 11 551 5826
E-mail: eca-info@un.org