Logistics Performance and Agricultural Exports: Evidence From Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between logistics performance and agricultural exports in Sub-Saharan Africa. Using dynamic panel data from 2012 to 2022, we examine the impact of various components of logistics performance on aggregate agricultural exports. We also analyse how logistics performance affects exports in agricultural subsectors. Our results show that improvements in logistics infrastructure, customs procedures, and international shipping services significantly increase agricultural export performance. The food and live animals subsector benefits the most, followed by crude materials and animal and vegetable oils and fats subsectors. We also find that financial development, foreign direct investment, and world demand are important drivers of agricultural exports in Sub-Saharan Africa. We include institutional quality indicators in our analysis for robustness checks, showing that governance factors also play a significant role in boosting exports. These findings highlight the need for targeted investment in logistics and complementary economic policies, supported by good governance, to harness the region's agricultural export potential and promote sustainable economic development.