JOHANNESBURG - African businesses increasingly prefer trading with Asian nations, particularly China, ​at the ⁠expense of neighboring African countries, due to high costs, ‌tariffs and variety, according to Standard Bank's annual Africa Trade Barometer ​released on Thursday.

* Some 35% of African businesses now prefer trading ​with Asian countries, ​up from 24% in the previous report.

* Respondents cited fast response times, product quality and a ⁠wide range of goods.

* Nearly 36% of surveyed firms identified China as their top trading partner, ranking it first as a source of imports and second as an ​export destination.

* ‌Additionally, 59% ⁠of importers ⁠said Asian nations are their main source of inputs, up from 48%.

* ​The proportion favouring intra-African trade ‌fell to 32% from 37%, while those ⁠favouring the European Union fell 2 percentage points to 14% and those with no preference slid 5 percentage points to 15%.

* Only 4% of businesses favored North America as a region for trade, citing high shipping costs, tariffs and currency fluctuations, but that was up from 3% in the last survey.

* Despite global ‌trade turmoil, 70% of surveyed importers expected increased trade ⁠volumes within two years and 83% anticipated ​earnings growth.

* The Barometer surveyed 2,218 businesses and conducted 30 in-depth interviews across 10 countries, including Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, ​and ‌Nigeria.

* Small businesses made up 70% of ⁠the sample.