That dollar amount results from a 31.9% increase compared to $1.024 billion five years earlier in 2018.
Year over year, the overall value of products exported from Togo accelerated by 26.4% compared to $1.07 billion for 2021.
Based on average exchange rates for Togo’s official currency in 2022, the West African CFA franc depreciated by -12.3% against the US dollar since 2018 and diluted by -12.5% from 2021 to 2022. The weaker West African CFA franc makes Togo’s exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively less expensive.
Togo’s Top Trading Partners
The latest available country-specific data from 2021 shows that 84.9% of products exported from Togo were bought by importers in: India (17% of the African country’s total), Burkina Faso (12.5%), Benin (9.4%), Ivory Coast (8.4%), Mali (7.5%), France (7%), Ghana (5.6%), Niger (4.3%), Bulgaria (3.7%), Senegal (3.67%), United States of America (3.5%) and Nigeria (2.4%).
From a continental perspective, 56.4% of Togo’s exports by value was delivered to fellow African countries while 19.8% were sold to importers in Asia. Togo shipped another 14% worth of goods to Europe.
Smaller percentages went to buyers in North America (5.4%), Oceania (4.4%) led by New Zealand and Australia, then customers in Latin America (0.01%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean.
Given Togo’s population of 8.86 million people, its total $1.35 billion in 2022 exports translates to roughly $150 for every resident in the West African country. That per-capita dollar amount exceeds the average $130 for 2021.
Togo’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Togolese global shipments during 2022, 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 Togo.
- Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: US$365.5 million (27% of total exports)
- Plastics, plastic articles: $138.4 million (10.2%)
- Mineral fuels including oil: $120.6 million (8.9%)
- Oil seeds: $90 million (6.7%)
- Perfumes, cosmetics: $76.6 million (5.7%)
- Cotton: $72.3 million (5.4%)
- Vehicles: $67.8 million (5%)
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: $60.8 million (4.5%)
- Feathers, artificial flowers, hair: $52.3 million (3.9%)
- Beverages, spirits, vinegar: $50.9 million (3.8%)
Togo’s top 10 exports accounted for 81.1% of the overall value of its global shipments.
Oil seeds represent the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 201.2% from 2021 to 2022.
In second place for improving export sales was the salt, sulphur, stone and cement, via a 78% advance.
Togo’s shipments of mineral fuels including oil posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 66.9%.
The leading decliner among Togo’s top 10 export categories was vehicles, pulled down by a -27.9% year-over-year drop.
At the more granular four-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, natural calcium or aluminum phosphates represent Togo’s most valuable exported product at 22.2% of the country’s total. In second place were plastic packing goods including lids or caps (7.7%), refined petroleum oils (6.9%), soya beans (5.7%), beauty, makeup or skincare preparations (5.6%), hydraulic cements (4.5%), motorcycles (4.2%), wigs, false bears and eyelashes (3.9%), palm oil (3.7%), then uncarded and uncombed cotton (3.4%).
Products Creating Greatest Trade Surpluses for Togo
The following types of Togolese 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.
- Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: US$311.2 million (Up by 145.8% since 2021)
- Oil seeds: $69.6 million (Up by 188.5%)
- Perfumes, cosmetics: $62.2 million (Up by 13.4%)
- Feathers, artificial flowers, hair: $51.7 million (Down by -5.6%)
- Cotton: $24.3 million (Down by -43.6%)
- Plaiting products, basketware.wickerwork: $20.8 million (Up by 21.9%)
- Food industry waste, animal fodder: $17.3 million (Up by 1194.2%)
- Cocoa: $16.4 million (Up by 177.4%)
- Beverages, spirits, vinegar: $14 million (Down by -30.3%)
- Coffee, tea, spices: $7.3 million (Up by 2895.5%)
Togo has highly positive net exports in the international trade of natural calcium or aluminum phosphates. In turn, these cashflows indicate Togo’s strong competitive advantages under the salt, sulphur, stone and cement product category.
Products Causing Biggest Trade Deficits for Togo
Togo racked up an overall estimated -US$1.45 billion trade deficit for 2022, up by 1.6% from -$1.42 billion in red ink one year earlier in 2021.
Below are exports from Togo that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Togo’s goods trail Togolese importer spending on foreign products.
- Mineral fuels including oil: -US$285.5 million (Up by 125.4% since 2021)
- Vehicles: -$219.2 million (Down by -15.8%)
- Machinery including computers: -$172.3 million (Down by -0.9%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$154.4 million (Up by 19.4%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$135.6 million (Down by -3.7%)
- Iron, steel: -$88.8 million (Up by 11.5%)
- Cereals: -$84.5 million (Up by 19.9%)
- Fertilizers: -$75.4 million (Up by 912.6%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$75.1 million (Up by 25.4%)
- Articles of iron or steel: -$60.6 million (Up by 5.7%)
Togo has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits under the mineral fuels-related product category, particularly for refined petroleum oils, petroleum coke, coal and petroleum gas.
Togo’s Export Companies
One Togolese corporation ranks among the largest businesses on the Forbes Global 2000, namely the regional bank Ecobank Transnational Incorporated.
Wikipedia lists companies from Togo that participate in international trade transactions. Selected examples are shown below.
- ASKY Airlines (airliner)
- Atlantic Bank Group (financial services holding group)
- La Poste du Togo (postal service)
In macroeconomic terms, Togo’s total exported goods represent 5.9% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2022 ($22.97 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 5.9% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2022 compares to 7.5% for 2021. Those percentages suggest a relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Togo’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Togo’s unemployment rate averaged 4.1% for 2022, down from an average 4.2% in 2021 according to Trading Economics.
Togo’s capital city is Lomé.
See also South Sudan’s Top 10 Exports, Somalia’s Top 10 Exports, Nigeria’s Top 10 Exports and Top African Export Countries
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Africa: Togo. Accessed on October 10, 2023
Forbes 2018 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on October 10, 2023
International Monetary Fund, Exchange Rates selected indicators (Domestic Currency per U.S. dollar, period average). Accessed on October 10, 2023
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on October 10, 2023
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on October 10, 2023
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on October 10, 2023
Wikipedia, Flag of Togo. Accessed on October 10, 2023
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on October 10, 2023
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Togo. Accessed on October 10, 2023
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on October 10, 2023
Wikipedia, Togo. Accessed on October 10, 2023
World’s Capital Cities, Capital Facts for Lomé, Togo. Accessed on October 10, 2023