About This Report
The Market Analysis Sub-group of the Food Security and Nutrition Working Group (FSNWG) monitors informal cross-border trade of 88 food commodities and livestock in eastern Africa in order to quantify the impact on regional food security. This bulletin summarizes informal trade across selected borders of Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Sudan, and South Sudan and DRC. Data is provided by the East Africa Grain Council (EAGC), the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET), the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the National Bank of Rwanda (NBR) and the World Food Program (WFP).
Informal trade represents commodity flows outside of the formal system, meaning that activity is not typically recorded in government statistics or inspected and taxed through official channels. These flows vary from very small quantities moved by bicycle to large volumes trucked over long distances. This report does not capture all informal cross-border trade in the region, just a representative sample.