By Abdullahi Salad - Head of News at Dawan Media
“A country cannot celebrate tariff-free access abroad while its own producers remain trapped by poor infrastructure, excessive costs and barriers to export.”
China has opened a major trade door for Somalia and other African countries by granting tariff-free access to their exports. This is no ordinary opportunity. China is a market of more than one billion consumers and one of the world’s largest importers of food, sesame, fish, fruits, livestock and raw materials. Yet this moment has once again exposed the greatest obstacle holding back Somalia’s economy: a government that has failed to clear the path for its own producers.
Despite the many challenges it faces, Somalia possesses enormous production potential. Bananas, sesame, fish, livestock and many other products are capable of competing internationally. The problem is not a lack of resources. The problem is that Somali products lose their competitiveness long before they reach foreign markets.
Goods leaving the farm must travel along broken roads, absorb high transport costs, pass countless roadside checkpoints, pay multiple fees and taxes, and navigate an export system that makes doing business unnecessarily difficult.
The government may celebrate China’s tariff relief, but that achievement means little if Somali traders continue to face endless charges before reaching the port. What is the value of China opening its market if every gate inside Somalia still opens only with money? What is the benefit of Beijing’s zero-tariff policy if bananas from Afgooye or Jannaale arrive at the port costing more than bananas shipped from Latin America?
Global trade is driven by competitiveness, not sympathy. Buyers in China or the Gulf will not purchase Somali products simply because they support Somalia. They buy products that offer quality, competitive prices, reliable delivery, proper packaging, internationally recognized certification and the ability to compete. If Somali products lose time, quality and money before they even reach the market, buyers will simply look elsewhere. Opportunities do not wait.
Sesame offers the clearest example. Somalia continues to produce and export sesame, making it one of the few commodities that still maintains a meaningful presence in international markets. According to data from the World Integrated Trade Solution (WITS), Somalia exported an estimated 6,300 metric tons of sesame worth more than $11 million in 2023 despite significant domestic constraints.
China presents an even greater opportunity. In 2024, the country imported more than $2.5 trillion worth of goods. Sesame imports alone were valued at nearly $1.9 billion, exceeding 1.18 million metric tons. According to CIIE and Xinhua, Africa supplied nearly 75 percent of China’s sesame imports that year.
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This is where the government has fallen short. Before celebrating China’s decision, Somalia should have unveiled a national export strategy: roads linking production areas to ports, reforms to reduce the taxes and fees burdening producers, a one-stop export service to simplify procedures, and a tax system that rewards exporters instead of discouraging them.
Instead, farmers and traders continue to receive speeches, photo opportunities and promises while struggling to get their products to market.
A serious government does not watch opportunities pass by. A responsible government does not leave farmers and producers to battle broken roads, excessive taxation and fierce international competition on their own. National production requires protection, facilitation and institutions that work.
China has opened the door. But if Somalia continues to close the road against itself, other countries will seize the opportunity while Somalia repeats the same familiar excuse: “We have products, but we cannot export them.”
There is a Somali proverb: “A cow cannot stand if its owner is sitting on its tail.” Today, Somalia must get off its own tail—or accept that global opportunities will continue to pass it by while it stands in its own way.
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Abdullahi Salaad Hassan is a Statistics and Planning graduate from SIMAD University and an experienced media professional. He currently serves as Head of News at Dawan Media and as a Producer at Dawan TV.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Dawan Africa.