Chinese Manufacturers Export to Africa: The Case for Africa (2026)

More Chinese manufacturers export to Africa every year, and for a factory that sells mainly into a small number of large markets, Africa is a practical way to add customers in a different region. This guide looks at what official customs and development-bank data say about China-Africa trade, why diversification matters to a factory's order book, what African demand looks like, and which risks to plan for. It is written for foreign-trade managers and owners, and every figure is attributed to the organisation that published it. Where a number could not be confirmed from an official page, we left it out.

Why Chinese manufacturers export to Africa: the trade numbers

According to China's General Administration of Customs (GAC), as reported by Xinhua on 11 June 2025, China-Africa trade grew from under 100 billion yuan (about US$13.9 billion) in 2000 to 2.1 trillion yuan in 2024, an average annual growth rate of 14.2%. The same report says China had been Africa's largest trading partner for 16 consecutive years as of the end of 2024. You can read it on the Belt and Road Portal.

Growth continued into 2025. Xinhua, citing GAC data and published on 9 June 2025, reported that trade for January to May 2025 reached 963.21 billion yuan (about US$134 billion), up 12.4% year on year and equal to 5.4% of China's total foreign trade. Within that, China's exports to Africa were 599.57 billion yuan, up 20.2%, while imports from Africa were 363.64 billion yuan, up 1.6%. We could not find an official full-year 2025 figure on a page we could read, so check GAC's latest release before you quote a number to a customer or investor.

One policy note, so it is not confused with your export costs: on 28 April 2026 Xinhua reported that China's Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council announced zero-tariff treatment for imports from additional African countries from 1 May 2026 to 30 April 2028, which together with an earlier measure for 33 least-developed countries (in effect since 1 December 2024) covers 53 African countries. That concerns what Chinese buyers pay on African goods. It does not change the import duty your African customer pays on goods you ship, which depends on the destination country's own tariff.

Why diversify beyond your biggest markets

Any factory that sends most of its volume to one or two regions is exposed to changes in demand, currency, freight rates or product rules in those regions. Adding Africa as another region does not remove that exposure, but it spreads it. It also gives you buyers who are growing their own import and distribution businesses, which can mean repeat orders over several years if the first shipment goes well. This is a business-planning point, not a prediction: no source we checked promises orders to any individual exporter, and neither do we.

Africa is also not one market. It is dozens of customs territories with different currencies, port systems and product rules. Treat it as a portfolio of markets and start with one or two, as we describe in our guide on which African market to enter first.

The demand side: people, income and what Africa imports

The UN Economic Commission for Africa, citing the UN Population Division, says Africa's population passed 1.5 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach about 2.5 billion by 2050, when more than one in four people in the world would be African. It also projects the working-age population (20 to 64) to grow from 883 million in 2024 to 1.6 billion in 2050 (ECA blog, 12 July 2024). Income is a different story: the World Bank's data page for Sub-Saharan Africa shows a population of 1.32 billion and GDP of US$2.21 trillion in 2025, or about US$1,673 per person in current dollars. Large numbers of buyers, then, but modest purchasing power per person, which is why price, durability and pack size matter so much.

What do those buyers import? In the World Bank's WITS country summaries for 2022, consumer goods made up about 51% of Nigeria's imports and about 50% of Ghana's, with China the largest single source of imports for South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana. The World Bank's October 2026 Africa Economic Update puts Sub-Saharan Africa's growth at 4.1% in 2025 and projects 4.3% for 2026, citing stronger domestic demand among the drivers.

A bigger home market for African buyers: AfCFTA

The African Continental Free Trade Area brings together the 55 African Union member countries, with a combined market the Secretariat describes as about 1.3 billion people and GDP of approximately US$3.4 trillion (AfCFTA Secretariat). Trading under the agreement began on 1 January 2021. Be careful about what that means for a factory in China: the preferences apply to goods that qualify as originating in an AfCFTA country, so goods made in China and shipped to Africa are not covered. We explain the rules in our AfCFTA guide for Chinese exporters.

Risks to plan for before you ship

• Currency and inflation. The African Development Bank's 2026 African Economic Outlook (26 May 2026) lists exchange-rate depreciation among the risks and projects inflation to stay elevated in 2026. Quote in a stable currency and agree payment terms before production.
• Product rules. Several African countries, including Nigeria and Kenya, check product conformity before shipment. Our guide to product standards in Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana is a good starting point.
• Shipping and landed cost. You arrange and pay for shipping to Africa when you sell through Comilmart, so price it in. See how to price for African buyers.
• Fraud and non-payment. Fake buyers exist in every trade corridor. Verify buyers first and never pay advance fees.

How a factory can start without opening an office

You do not need a local office to test demand. A B2B marketplace lets you list products with minimum order quantities and tiered prices, answer buyer requests and offer samples, with the foreign seller arranging and paying for shipping. Our overview of selling products in Africa from China explains the steps, and the best-products guide shows what sells.

Frequently asked questions

How much do Chinese manufacturers export to Africa? China's customs figures reported by Xinhua put total China-Africa trade at 2.1 trillion yuan in 2024, and Chinese exports to Africa at 599.57 billion yuan in January to May 2025 alone. Always cite the period and the source.

Is Africa a good market for small and mid-sized factories? It can be, because buyers range from large importers to small wholesalers. Whether it suits your product depends on price, standards and logistics, so test one market first.

Does AfCFTA remove duties on goods from China? No. According to the AfCFTA rules of origin manual, preferences go to goods that originate in a State Party; other goods attract the normal most-favoured-nation tariff rate.

Do I need an agent in Africa? Not necessarily at the start. In several countries, importing goes through a registered importer or a clearing agent on the buyer's side.

Are these figures guaranteed to repeat? No. They describe past trade. Confirm current data with GAC and your forwarder.

Getting started

If you want to see whether Chinese manufacturers can export to Africa profitably with your own products, the lowest-cost first step is to get verified and listed. Read the overview at /sell-to-africa, then apply at /apply-manufacturer. Applying is free, and Comilmart does not guarantee buyers, orders or prices.