Exported goods from Eritrea were worth a total US$433.5 million in 2023.

That projected dollar amount reflects a -12.2% decrease from $494 million recorded 5 years earlier for 2019.

Year over year, overall Eritrean exports sank by -48.2% compared to $564.3 million starting from 2022.

Eritrea is a tiny country located in East Africa, bordered by Sudan to its west, Ethiopia to its south and southwest and Djibouti to its southeast. Northeastern and eastern Eritrea shares a coastline with the Red Sea.

Eritrea’s top 2 most valuable export products are zinc ores or concentrates and copper ores or concentrates. Combined, those product categories represent 96.7% of overall exports from Eritrea by value. Such a high percentage indicates an intensely concentrated portfolio of products for Eritrea’s international shipments.

Given Eritrea’s population of 3.749 million people, its total $433.5 million in 2023 exports translates to roughly $120 for every resident in the East African country. That dollar metric lags the average $160 per capita one year earlier during 2022.

Eritrea’s Top 10 Exports

The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Eritrean 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 Eritrea.

1. Ores, slag, ash: US$419.4 million (96.7% of total exports)
2. Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $9.3 million (2.1%)
3. Beverages, spirits, vinegar: $1.3 million (0.3%)
4. Milling products, malt, starches: $467,000 (0.11%)
5. Ceramic products: $439,000 (0.10%)
6. Machinery including computers: $430,000 (0.10%)
7. Organic chemicals: $348,000 (0.08%)
8. Plastics, plastic articles: $268,000 (0.06%)
9. Fish: $254,000 (0.06%)
10. Vegetables: $247,000 (0.06%)

By value, Eritrea’s top 10 export product categories accounted for 99.7% of the overall value of its global shipments.

Ceramic products represent the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 43,800% from 2022 to 2023.

In second place for Eritrea’s improving export sales were milling products, malt and starches via a 23,250% advance.

Eritrean exports of vegetables posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 4,840% compared to 2022.

The decliners among the top 10 Eritrean export categories were ores, slag and ash (down -25.7% from 2022) and machinery including computers (down -23.4%).

At the more detailed 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, the major exports from Eritrea are zinc ores or concentrates (53.2% of Eritrea’s global total), copper ores or concentrates (43.6%), unknitted and non-crocheted women’s clothing (1.1%), then unknitted and non-crocheted men’s shirts (0.7%).

Products Driving Eritrea’s Best Trade Surpluses

Eritrea incurred an estimated US$113.2 million trade surplus in 2023, down by -70.6% from $385.7 million in black ink one year earlier in 2022.

The following types of Eritrean 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. Ores, slag, ash: US$419.4 million (Down by -25.7% since 2022)
2. Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $9 million (Up by 36.7%)
3. Fish: $245,000 (Up 371.2%)
4. Beverages, spirits, vinegar: $157,000 (Reversing a -$832,000 deficit)
5. Fruits, nuts: $95,000 (Reversing a -$108,000 deficit)
6. Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: $18,000 (Reversing a -$3.5 million deficit)
7. Cocoa: $6,000 (Reversing a -$32,000 deficit)
8. Gems, precious metals: $2,000 (Down by -100%)
9. Aircraft, spacecraft: $2,000 (Reversing a -$2,000 deficit)

Eritrea has highly positive net exports in the international trade of copper and zinc ores and concentrates. In turn, these cashflows indicate Eritrea’s strong competitive advantages under the ores, slag and ash product category.

Products Causing Eritrea’s Worst Trade Deficits

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

1. Machinery including computers: -US$70.4 million (Up by 0.7%)
2. Vehicles: -$39.8 million (Up by 109.3%)
3. Cereals: -$28 million (Down by -2.7%)
4. Milling products, malt, starches: -$24.9 million (Down by -11.9%)
5. Electrical machinery, equipment: -$16.4 million (Down by -46.5%)
6. Articles of iron or steel: -$11.8 million (Down by -38.8%)
7. Rubber, rubber articles: -$9.5 million (Down by -34.3%)
8. Optical, technical, medical apparatus: -$9.3 million (Up by 5.9%)
9. Sugar, sugar confectionery: -$8.6 million (Down by -22.7%)
10. Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: -$8.4 million (Down by -54.7%)

Eritrea has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits under the product category titled machinery including computers.

Eritrean Export Companies

Not one Eritrean corporation ranks among Forbes Global 2000.

Wikipedia does list exporters from Eritrea. Selected examples are shown below.

• Asmara Brewery (lager/stout beer)
• Golden Star Brewery (beer)
• Nakfa Corporation (corrugated boxes, sodium silicate)
• Red Sea Trading Corporation (international trade services)

 
In macroeconomic terms, Eritrea’s total exported goods represent an estimated 5.4% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2023 ($8.1 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 5.4% for exports to overall GDP per PPP in 2023 reflects a decline from 7.5% in 2022, albeit based on a short timeframe.

Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Eritrea’s unemployment rate averaged 5.9% for 2023, down from an average 6% in 2022 according to Trading Economics metrics.

Eritrea’s capital city is Asmara.

See also Eritrea’s Top 10 Imports, Top African Export Countries, Nigeria’s Top 10 Exports and Finding the Best International Trade Stocks

Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Country Profiles. Accessed on October 31, 2024

Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on October 31, 2024

International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on October 31, 2024

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on October 31, 2024

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on October 31, 2024

Wikipedia, List of Companies of Eritrea. Accessed on October 31, 2024