Trade Credit

Abstract

This briefing is based on a study of the horticulture and garment sectors, which have seen big export increases in the past decade. Researchers in the UK and Kenya contacted 25 firms in sub-Saharan Africa to inquire about how they financed their exports and whether the availability of trade finance had changed. They also contacted international trade experts and UK importers. The study found that accessing trade finance is not the most serious problem for established horticulture and garment exporters in sub-Saharan Africa – exchange rate fluctuations and falling demand are more important. But trade credit is a major problem for new exporters and small cooperatives as well as for Latin American horticulture exporters.

Citation

IDS In Focus Policy Briefing 7.8, Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex Brighton, UK, 2 pp.

Trade Credit

Published 1 January 2009