That dollar metric results from a 41.9% increase compared to Ivory Coast’s $12.9 billion in exported goods five-years earlier during 2019.
Year over year, Ivory Coast’s exports accelerated by 12% from $16.4 billion starting in 2022.
Based on the average exchange rate for 2023, Ivory Coast uses the West African CFA franc which depreciated by -3.5% against the US dollar since 2019 but increased by 2.8% from 2022 to 2023. Ivory Coast’s weaker local currency compared to 2019 makes its exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively less expensive for international buyers.
Ivory Coast’s biggest top 5 most valuable exports are cocoa beans, unwrought gold, natural rubber, processed petroleum oils then the cashews and coconuts product category. Collectively, those top 5 goods represent three-fifths (60%) of the total value for all Ivory Coast’s exports. That percentage suggests a concentrated portfolio of exported products.
Ivory Coast’s Key Trading Partners
The latest available country-specific data shows that 66.6% of products exported from Ivory Coast was bought by importers in: Netherlands (11.5% of the African country’s total), Switzerland (10.6%), Mali (8.7%), Malaysia (5%), Vietnam (also 5%), Burkina Faso (4.3%), mainland China (4.23%), United States of America (4.19%), France (3.7%), Germany (3.5%), Belgium (3.3%) and the United Kingdom (3%).
From a continental perspective, 44% of Ivory Coast’s exports by value was delivered to European countries while 27.4% was sold to importers also located in Africa. Ivory Coast shipped another 21.5% worth of goods to Asia.
Smaller percentages went to buyers in North America (6.2%), Latin America (0.8%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, then Oceania (0.1%) mostly Australia.
Given Ivory Coast’s population of 31.1 million people, its total $18.4 billion in 2023 exports translates to about $590 for every resident in the West African country. That dollar amount outpaces the average $580 per capita one year earlier during 2022.
Ivory Coast’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Ivoirian global shipments during 2023. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Ivory Coast.
- Cocoa: US$5.8 billion (31.6% of total exports)
- Mineral fuels including oil: $2.9 billion (15.8%)
- Gems, precious metals: $2.4 billion (12.8%)
- Rubber, rubber articles: $2.1 billion (11.2%)
- Fruits, nuts: $1.5 billion (8.2%)
- Ships, boats: $1 billion (5.5%)
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: $327.8 million (1.8%)
- Perfumes, cosmetics: $287.4 million (1.6%)
- Cotton: $224.2 million (1.2%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: $176 million (1%)
Ivory Coast’s top 10 exports accounted for 90.7% of the overall value of its global shipments.
Highly capital-intensive ships and boats was the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 166% from 2022 to 2023.
In second place for improving export sales was fruits and nuts via a 23.6% advance.
Ivory Coast’s shipments of gems and precious metals posted the third-fastest gain in value up by 23%, propelled by stronger revenues from gold exports.
The leading decliner among Ivory Coast’s top 10 export categories was cotton, pulled down by a -43.7% year-over-year drop.
At the more granular four-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, the Ivory Coast’s most valuable export products are cocoa beans (18.1% of the African country’s total) trailed by unwrought gold (12.8%), natural rubber (11.1%), processed petroleum oils (11%), cashews and coconuts (6.8%), cocoa paste (4.7%), cocoa butter, fat and oil (3.8%), crude oil (3.5%), cocoa waste including shells and husks (also 3.5%), then cruise or cargo ships and barges (3.4%).
Products Generating Ivory Coast’s Best Trade Surpluses
The following types of Ivoirian 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.
- Cocoa: US$5.8 billion (Up by 17.1% since 2022)
- Gems, precious metals: $2.3 billion (Up by 23.4%)
- Rubber, rubber articles: $1.9 billion (Up by 10.3%)
- Fruits, nuts: $1.5 billion (Up by 24.2%)
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: $281.5 million (Down by -37.5%)
- Cotton: $189.3 million (Down by -47.4%)
- Perfumes, cosmetics: $185.4 million (Up by 9.8%)
- Ores, slag, ash: $144.6 million (Down by -6.1%)
- Wood: $80.2 million (Down by -26.2%)
- Miscellaneous food preparations: $64.8 million (Down by -55%)
Ivory Coast has highly positive net exports in the international trade of cocoa. In turn, these cashflows indicate Ivory Coast’s strong competitive advantages under the cocoa product category.
Products Causing Ivory Coast’s Largest Trade Deficits
Ivory Coast faced an overall -US$478.6 million trade deficit for 2023 down by -69.6% from $1.58 billion in red ink one year earlier in 2022.
Below are exports from Ivory Coast that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Ivory Coast’s goods trail Ivoirian importer spending on foreign products.
- Mineral fuels including oil: -US$1.9 billion (Up by 5.9% since 2022)
- Machinery including computers: -$1.4 billion (Up by 2.2%)
- Vehicles: -$1.2 billion (Up by 10.4%)
- Cereals: -$978.6 million (Down by -14.9%)
- Fish: -$828.3 million (Up by 12.2%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$811.1 million (Up by 1.3%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$526.4 million (Down by -13.3%)
- Articles of iron or steel: -$523.2 million (Up by 5.7%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$474.2 million (Down by -0.5%)
- Ships, boats: -$469.8 million (Down by -11.5%)
Ivory Coast has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits for crude oil and petroleum gases under the mineral fuels including oil product category.
Ivory Coast’s Export Companies
Not one Ivoirian corporation ranks among Forbes Global 2000.
Wikipedia lists exports-related companies from Ivory Coast. Selected examples are shown below.
- Abidjan Transport Company (transportation infrastructure)
- Autonomous Port of Abidjan (commercial seaport)
- Ivoirienne de Transports Aériens (cargo airliner)
In macroeconomic terms, Ivory Coast’s total exported goods represent 9.1% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2023 ($201.1 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 9.1% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2023 compares to 8.9% for 2022. Those percentages suggest a relatively increasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Ivory Coast’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Statistics from Trading Economics put Ivory Coast’s average unemployment rate at 2.7% for 2023, up from the average 2.6% jobless rate in 2022.
Ivory Coast’s capital city is Yamoussoukro, which is also home to the world’s highest domed church.
See also South Africa’s Top 10 Exports, Ghana’s Top 10 Exports, Angola’s Top 10 Exports and Nigeria’s Top 10 Exports
Research Sources:
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on September 13, 2024
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on September 13, 2024
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on September 13, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on September 13, 2024
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on September 13, 2024
Wikipedia, Ivory Coast. Accessed on September 13, 2024
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Ivory Coast. Accessed on September 13, 2024
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on September 13, 2024