Question

What goods did Europeans trade with Africa? What kind of agricultural produce did they promote for trade purpose?

Answer 1

Only a few hundred kilometres separate Lagos, Nigeria, from Accra in Ghana. For the thousands of traders who ply this route, the journey through Togo and Benin can take a full day, punctuated by arduous border checks, harassment and solicitations from officials for kickbacks.

"Customs officials and police at roadblocks will make you unload and unpack every little package in order to delay you for hours," says Ms. Lucia Quachey, secretary-general of the African Federation of Women Entrepreneurs, an organization of more than 4 million women across the continent, producing and trading everything from textiles to pharmaceuticals and vehicle parts. "Everyone knows the intention is to force travellers to pay."

Some of this activity is illegal, she says -- deliberate efforts by officials to violate the principle of free movement of people and goods within the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). It is also due to the slow implementation of regional integration agreements aimed at eliminating tariff and non-tariff barriers in the region. Despite pronouncements of support by politicians for regional economic ties, the reality on the ground for traders such as Ms. Quachey remains difficult.

African countries are grappling to undo a legacy dominated by trade with their former colonial rulers rather than with each other. Senegal's biggest trading partner is France, while Gambia trades extensively with the UK. Although Senegal surrounds Gambia, trade between the two neighbours is minimal.

The continent's railways and roads often lead towards the ports rather than link countries across regions. To fly from one African country to another, it is often easier to pass through Europe. Relatively lower tariffs on African goods entering European Union and US markets also make export to industrial countries more lucrative than to other African countries. Because of hindrances to trade within Africa, exports from Tunisia and Cameroon often find their way to French warehouses before being redirected to each other's market shelves

Answer 2

The goods Europeans trade with Africa are as follows:

• Cloths, cooper, trinkets, guns, slave beads and etc. are the goods Europeans supplies to Africa.

The kind of agricultural produce they promote for trade purpose is as follow:

• There are some kind of agricultural product like cinnamon cloves, cardamom, saltpeter, opium, tea etc which they promote for trade purpose. This mercantile trading makes huge profit.