Last year, exports of goods and services from the whole West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) slumped by 7.6% standing at CFA15.67 trillion. This was revealed in the latest report of the BCEAO, the region’s central bank.
This negative performance results from the drop in exports of cocoa (-9.4%), cotton (-1.1%) and oil products (-22%), which is due to the global economic crisis marked by the fall in prices of commodities and unfavorable weather conditions in Ivory Coast.
Yet, the decrease was somehow cushioned by the robustness of sectors such as those of cashew and gold, whose respective performances soared by 11.4% and 7.2%, with their prices rising, over the period.
Regarding services, exports fell by 0.2% but their share in global sales volume, WAEMU excluded, improved by 1.7% to 15.2% in 2016, against 13.5% in 2015.
An improvement spurred by a significant increase of insurance services sales outside WAEMU (+62.4%), of financial services (+25.4%) and of services related to buildings and public works (+23.3%).
Meanwhile, in 2016, the union’s trade deficit rose to 6% of GDP, against 7.3% in 2015.
Fiacre E. Kakpo
DRC minister visited Huawei China center to boost AI training cooperation Talks focused on launch...
China says Premier Li Qiang will attend instead of President Xi Jinping The U.S. and Russia also ...
After two years of limited testing, WhatsApp will soon let users and businesses hide their phone num...
Public Eye claims over 90% of Cerelac samples in Africa contain added sugar, averaging 6 g per por...
MTN Innovation Lab hosts Africa HealthTech Export 2025 Bootcamp in Cotonou Event targets s...
Qatar’s Emir visited Rwanda and the DRC as Doha deepened its mediation role in the conflict while expanding major economic commitments in both...
China lifts its market share from 23.8% in 2016 to 52.5% in 2024, gaining 28.7 points. Imports of industrial machines more than double, rising...
The NICTBB backbone already covers 78% of Tanzania and receives 73 billion TZS (≈ USD 30 million) for its next expansion phase. Tanzania is...
Glencore’s attributable production falls to 122,000 barrels over nine months, down from 176,000 barrels in 2024. Cameroon’s government revises...
Orange Egypt and Qatar’s Qilaa International Group have partnered to develop WTOUR, a digital platform offering trip planning, hotel bookings, local...
Singita will invest $60m to build a 60-bed lodge on Santa Carolina Island and $42m in projects across the Bazaruto Archipelago. The...