Trade depends on measurement: the quantity in a package, the quality of a commodity, the accuracy of a meter or a test result. When countries trust each other's measurements, products do not have to be tested again at every border.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) aims to create a single market for goods and services across the continent. Lower tariffs alone are not enough: technical barriers to trade, such as differing requirements, repeated testing and certificates that are not recognised, can cost traders as much as duties.
Metrology is one of the four pillars of quality infrastructure, together with standardisation, accreditation and conformity assessment. AFRIMETS works with its partners in the Pan-African Quality Infrastructure (PAQI) so that African measurement results are comparable, traceable to the International System of Units, and recognised internationally.
This section describes how AFRIMETS supports the AfCFTA and wider trade facilitation, and links to the programmes, projects and technical work behind them.