• Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal lead UEMOA exports with 55.3% combined share
• Mali, Burkina Faso dominate intra-regional trade at 44.8%
• Intra-UEMOA trade rises 12.1% to $2.25 billion in Q4 2025

Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal were the leading exporters in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to the latest monetary policy report published by the BCEAO in mid-March 2026.

Côte d'Ivoire accounted for 35.8% of total exports, while Senegal contributed 19.5%, bringing their combined share to 55.3% of the bloc's exports.

This dominance is not new. A report published in February 2024 by Ecofin Pro found that both countries remained the leading exporters in UEMOA between 2017 and 2021.

They also rank among the union's top performers in implementing regional reforms. Senegal reached an implementation rate of 77.5% in 2023, up from 74.5% in 2022. Côte d'Ivoire recorded 87.78% in 2024, compared with 85.45% in 2023, according to official figures.

Mali and Burkina Faso at the Core of Intra-Regional Trade

By destination, Burkina Faso and Mali account for 44.8% of trade, making them the bloc's leading commercial partners.

This comes as both countries, members of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), have withdrawn from ECOWAS while remaining in UEMOA. This allows them to preserve regional integration mechanisms and maintain trade flows with other member states.

In 2024, Mali was the leading destination for Senegalese exports, according to the December monthly bulletin of Senegal's National Agency of Statistics and Demography (ANSD). A January 2025 report by Côte d'Ivoire's National Statistics Agency (Anstat) indicated that Mali and Burkina Faso remained Côte d'Ivoire's main partners within the union, accounting for 57.2% and 21.5% of its exports, respectively.

In this context, Côte d'Ivoire announced in a circular dated March 31, 2026, the removal of customs representation visas on detailed customs declarations for exports to Mali and Burkina Faso. The measure could boost trade with both countries by reducing administrative constraints and easing trade flows, thereby strengthening the competitiveness of Ivorian and regional businesses.

In the fourth quarter of 2025, "intra-UEMOA trade rose 12.1% [...] to 1,276.3 billion CFA Francs ($2.25 billion), representing 16.0% of total trade, the same proportion as in the fourth quarter of 2024," the BCEAO report said.

Lydie Mobio