China’s pandemic closure has strengthened the constellation of wholesale markets situated in manufacturing hubs in the Global South. This paper examines the resiliency demonstrated by Congolese traders as they pivot their commerce activities to alternative destinations such as Turkey.
Paper long abstract:
As there is little industry in many sub-Saharan African countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), one that boasts a consumer base of over ninety million people, the majority of manufactured goods are imported from abroad. Given this dependency on imports, many people are intimately aware of the oscillating rhythms of trade connected to global supply chains, as they themselves are often embedded in some aspect of local supply chains.
African traders frequent a constellation of international wholesale markets situated in manufacturing hubs in the Global South. This paper describes how China’s pandemic closure has prompted traders, particularly women from the DRC, to pivot their commerce activities to alternative destinations within the already existing trading constellation such as Turkey. It explores some of the macro and granular conditions that have allowed for the mobility of women involved in cross-border trade. While the rhythms of trade and migration have been affected by the pandemic, African traders have continued traveling abroad in the search of goods to import, pointing to the resiliency of their businesses and networks.