World Bank2012-03-192012-03-192011-06-01https://hdl.handle.net/10986/2785This report looks at the current situation and opportunities for cross-border trade between Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and neighbors with a focus on agricultural products. It recognizes that much of current trade across these borders is informal and carried by individual traders, most of whom are poor women. The report shows that it is very important that informality not be equated with illegality. The large numbers of traders that cross the border every day do so through official border crossings. The aim of the report is to provide information on the current state and the potential for cross border trade between the DRC and Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda, to document the conditions and problems that traders face in crossing the borders and provide suggestions to policy makers on the priorities for trade facilitating measures at the border. Exploiting the potential for cross-border trade will be an important element of growth and poverty reduction in the region and a key mechanism for enhancing stability. Comparing prices for food products in a range of markets in the three countries, the report underlines the strong role that cross-border trade could play in reducing differences in price levels and price volatility of agricultural products. The report proceeds by describing the current economic situation in the Great Lakes region and then provides a brief summary of a detailed analysis of relative prices of a number of basic food products in markets in Burundi, DRC and Rwanda and what this implies for the width of the borders in the region. The next section then summarizes the results from the survey of cross-border traders which is followed by a set of recommendations. The final section concludes and describes a number of steps that are being taken to address the constraints identified in this report and discusses ways in which these may be built upon.Ce rapport analyse la situation actuelle et les opportunités d’amélioration du commerce transfrontalier entre la RDC et ses pays voisins, en se focalisant sur les produits agricoles. Il établit que la majorité des échanges commerciaux actuels sont informels et conduits par des commerçants individuels, principalement des femmes pauvres. Ce rapport démontre l’importance de ne pas assimiler « informel » et « illégal ». En effet, chaque jour le grand nombre de commerçants traversant la frontière le fait à travers des postes-frontières officiels. Le but de ce rapport est de fournir des informations sur la situation actuelle et le potentiel commercial transfrontalier entre la RDC, le Burundi, le Rwanda et l’Ouganda, d’identifier les conditions et les problèmes auxquels les commerçants sont confrontés au franchissement des postes-frontières, et de formuler des recommandations aux décideurs politiques sur les priorités de mesures de facilitation commerciale. En comparant les prix des produits alimentaires sur une série de marchés de la RDC, du Rwanda et du Burundi, le rapport souligne le rôle important que pourrait jouer les échanges transfrontaliers en vue de réduire les différences et la volatilité des prix des produits agricoles. Ce rapport propose certaines étapes cruciales permettant la facilitation des échanges commerciaux transfrontaliers dans la région des Grands Lacs et vise à atteindre des améliorations stratégiques des infrastructures dans le but de créer un espace plus ouvert et plus transparent contribuant à une réduction des risques de sécurité. Enfin, ce projet permettra également de dispenser des formations pour les officiers de douanes et de sécurité, visant à améliorer et professionnaliser leurs comportements aux frontières, mais aussi de soutenir l’autonomisation des associations de commerçants et le développement de leurs capacités.CC BY 3.0 IGOAGRICULTURAL OUTPUTAGRICULTURAL PRICESAGRICULTURAL PRODUCTSAGRICULTURAL TRADEAGRICULTUREARBITRAGEAUDIT TRAILAVERAGE TRAVEL TIMEBENCHMARKBORDER CROSSINGBORDER CROSSINGSBORDER MANAGEMENTBORDER TRAFFICBUSINESS OPPORTUNITIESBUSINESS PRACTICESCASE-BY-CASE BASISCOMMERCECOMMODITIESCOMMODITYCOMMODITY PRICECOMMUTERSCOMPETITIVE MARKETSCOMPUTER SYSTEMCOMPUTER SYSTEMSCONSUMERSCOSTS OF TRANSPORTATIONCOUNTRY OF DESTINATIONCROSS-BORDER TRADECROSSINGCUSTOMSCUSTOMS AUTHORITIESCUSTOMS OFFICERSCUSTOMS PROCEDURESCUSTOMS UNIONDATA AVAILABILITYDRIVINGECONOMIC INTEGRATIONECONOMIC SITUATIONEMISSIONSEXPORTSFAIRFINANCIAL REWARDSFOOD PRODUCTIONFORMAL ECONOMYFRAUDFRAUDSFREE TRADEFREE TRADE AGREEMENTGDPGDP PER CAPITAGEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTIONGLOBAL MARKETHARMONIZATIONHEAVY TRAFFICHIGH TRANSPORTHIGHWAYSHUMAN RIGHTSINCOMEINCOMESINCREASING RETURNSINFORMATION SHARINGINFORMATION SYSTEMINFORMATION TECHNOLOGYINTERNATIONAL ARBITRATIONINTERNATIONAL CONFERENCEINTERNATIONAL COOPERATIONINTERNATIONAL MARKETSINTERNATIONAL TRADEINTRAREGIONAL TRADELEGAL RULESLEGAL SYSTEMSLIVING STANDARDSMARKET INTEGRATIONMARKET PRICESMERCHANDISEMERCHANDISE TRADEMOBILE PHONESNATURAL RESOURCESNON-TARIFF BARRIERSOUTPUTPEDESTRIANPEDESTRIAN TRAFFICPOLICEPOLICY MAKERSPOLITICAL ECONOMYPOLITICAL SYSTEMSPRICE LEVELSPRICE LISTPRICE VOLATILITYPUBLIC POLICYREGIONAL TRADEREGULATORY REQUIREMENTSROADROAD CONDITIONSROAD INFRASTRUCTUREROAD NETWORKROAD QUALITYROADSROUTESAFETYSAFETY CHECKSSANITATIONSTATISTICAL ANALYSISSTREET LIGHTINGSURPLUSTAXTECHNICAL ASSISTANCETELECOMMUNICATIONSTOLLTRADE FLOWSTRADE INFORMATIONTRADE POLICYTRADE REGIMETRADE RULESTRADING ACTIVITIESTRADING ACTIVITYTRANSPARENCYTRANSPORTTRANSPORT COSTSTRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURETRAVELERSTRUCKSTRUEVALUATIONWAGESWEALTHWorld Bank10.1596/2785