A landlocked Central African nation, the Republic of Chad shipped US$3.32 billion worth of exported products around the world in 2023.

That projected dollar amount results from a 148.4% acceleration from 5 years earlier in $1.34 billion in 2019.

Year over year, the overall value of goods exported from Chad fell by -29.9% compared to $4.74 billion starting from 2022.

Based on the average exchange rate for 2023, Chad uses the Central African CFA franc which depreciated by -3.5% against the US dollar since 2019 but appreciated by 2.8% from 2022 to 2023. Chad’s weaker local currency starting from 2019 makes its exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively less expensive for international buyers.

Chad’s top 3 most valuable exported products by value are crude oil, oil seeds then natural gums, resins and balsams. Collectively, that trio of export categories represent 99.3% of exports sold by Chad in 2023. Such a high percentage reflects Chad’s extremely concentrated portfolio of exported goods.

Chad’s Major Trading Partners

The latest available country-specific data shows that 99.7% of products exported from Chad was bought by importers in: mainland China (24.5% of the Chadian total), Germany (22.4%), Netherlands (16.4%), France (13.5%), Taiwan (9.8%), Türkiye (4.7%), South Korea (2.8%), Malaysia (2.63%), United States of America (2.6%), Central African Republic (0.2%), India (0.15%) and Egypt (0.12%).

From a continental perspective, more than half (52.4%) of Chad’s exports by value was delivered to European countries while 44.6% was sold to importers in Asia. Chad shipped another 2.6% worth of goods to buyers in North America.

Smaller percentages went to customers in fellow African countries (0.34%), Oceania’s New Zealand and Australia (0.004%), then Latin America (0.004%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean.

Given Chad’s population of 17.9 million people, its total $3.32 billion in 2023 exports translates to roughly $190 for every resident in the Central African country. That dollar metric lags the average $225 per capita one year earlier during 2022.

Chad’s Top 10 Exports

The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Chadian global shipments during 2023 at the 2-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Chad.

1. Mineral fuels including oil: US$3.1 billion (93.6% of total exports)
2. Oil seeds: $167.2 million (5%)
3. Gums, resins, other vegetable saps: $27.8 million (0.8%)
4. Cotton: $11.9 million (0.4%)
5. Aircraft, spacecraft: $1.1 million (0.03%)
6. Raw hides, skins not furskins, leather: $687,000 (0.02%)
7. Electrical machinery, equipment: $661,000 (0.02%)
8. Machinery including computers: $477,000 (0.01%)
9. Collector items, art, antiques: $264,000 (0.01%)
10. Plastics, plastic articles: $208,000 (0.01%)

Chad’s top 10 export product categories generated 99.95% of the overall value of its global shipments.

Collector items, art and antiques represent the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 2,833% from 2022 to 2023.

In second place for improving export sales was aircraft and spacecraft category via a 233.1% advance.

Chad’s shipments of plastics, including materials and items made from plastic, posted the third-fastest gain in value up by 46.5%.

The leading decliner among Chad’s top 10 export categories was cotton, pulled down by a -62.6% year-over-year drop.

Drilling down to 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System codes, Chad’s most valuable exported goods in 2023 were crude oil (93.4% of its overall total), oil seeds (5%), natural gums, resins and balsams (0.8%), uncarded and uncombed cotton (0.4%), processed petroleum oils (0.2%), miscellaneous rawhides and skins (0.01%), and phone devices including smartphones (also 0.01%).

Products Behind Chad’s Biggest Trade Surpluses

Chad generated an estimated US$2.23 billion product trade surplus for 2023, reducing by -38.1% from $3.6 billion in black ink one year earlier in 2022.

The following types of Chadian product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.

In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.

1. Mineral fuels including oil: US$3.1 billion (Down by -14.9% since 2022)
2. Oil seeds: $166.2 million (Up by 45.5%)
3. Gums, resins, other vegetable saps: $27.6 million (Down by -10.3%)
4. Cotton: $6.7 million (Down by -75.5%)
5. Raw hides, skins not furskins, leather: $684,000 (Up by 37.9%)
6. Collector items, art, antiques: $260,000 (Reversing a -$220,000 deficit)

Chad has highly positive net exports principally in the international trade of crude petroleum oil. In turn, these cashflows indicate Chad’s competitive advantages under the mineral fuels-related product category.

Products Causing Chad’s Worst Trade Deficits

Below are exports from Chad that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Chad’s goods trail Chadian importer spending on foreign products.

1. Electrical machinery, equipment: -US$171.4 million (Down by -8.1% since 2022)
2. Machinery including computers: -$115 million (Up by 20.3%)
3. Pharmaceuticals: -$89 million (Down by -24.8%)
4. Vehicles: -$74 million (Down by -21.3%)
5. Aircraft, spacecraft: -$48.8 million (Up by 1,472%)
6. Articles of iron or steel: -$46.9 million (Up by 29.7%)
7. Cereal/milk preparations: -$46.4 million (Down by -4.6%)
8. Iron, steel: -$42.3 million (Up by 15.8%)
9. Other chemical goods: -$37.7 million (Down by -9.8%)
10. Footwear: -$31.2 million (Up by 26.2%)

Chad has negative net exports and therefore international trade deficits notably under the electrical machinery and equipment product category, as well as for machinery including computers.

Chadian Export Companies

Not one Chadian corporation ranks among the Forbes Global 2000 listing.

Wikipedia also lists companies from Chad that participate in international trade transactions. Selected examples are shown below.

• Commercial Bank Chad (bank)
• Cotontchad (cotton)
• Mid Express Tchad (cargo airliner)

 
In macroeconomic terms, Chad’s total exported goods represent an estimated 6.7% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2023 ($49.4 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 6.7% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2023 compares to roughly 12.9% for 2022. Those percentages suggest a relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Chad’s total economic performance, albeit based on relatively short timeframe.

Another key indicator of a country’s economic health is its unemployment rate. Chad’s jobless rate averaged 1% for 2023, down from an average 1.1% in 2022 according to Trading Economics metrics.

Chad’s capital city is N’Djamena.

See also Germany’s Top Trading Partners, Uganda’s Top 10 Exports, Somalia’s Top 10 Exports and Top African Export Countries

Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Africa: Chad. Accessed on November 6, 2024

FlagPictures.org, Flag of Chad. Accessed on November 6, 2024

Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on November 6, 2024

International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Databases (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on November 6, 2024

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on November 6, 2024

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on November 6, 2024

Wikipedia, Chad. Accessed on November 6, 2024

Wikipedia, List of Companies of Chad. Accessed on November 6, 2024