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Côte d'Ivoire

Country profile - Côte d'Ivoire

Situated between Liberia and Ghana on the west coast of Africa, Côte d'Ivoire is first and foremost an agricultural country with agriculture one of the key pillars of the economy. The country suffered a prolonged period of economic crisis throughout the 80's and early 90's, but is finally beginning to prosper again.

In the past, the government has been criticised for paying more attention to cash crops than to satisfying the nutritional requirements of the local people. As a result steps have been taken to increase and improve production of items such as yams, maize, rice and plantains with the aim of achieving a higher level of food self-sufficiency. There are plans to restructure distribution networks taking into account where the population is concentrated. Côte d'Ivoire also intends to expand and intensify the production of onions, soya and potatoes.

Main agricultural exports

Cocoa, coffee, cotton, oil palm products, hevea wood and other timber are the main agricultural exports. Côte d'Ivoire is the leading supplier to the European market of fresh pineapples. Production, however, is declining with a corresponding drop in exports to the European market. Exports are expected to be 160,000 tonnes in 1998 compared to 170,000 tonnes in 1997 and 185,000 tonnes in 1996.

In volume terms, cocoa and coffee are easily the country's most important raw materials. In the cocoa sector Côte d'Ivoire managed to catch up with, and overtake, Nigeria and Ghana. Production increased from 179,000 tonnes in 1970 to between 950,000 and a million tonnes at present. This makes Côte d'Ivoire the world's top cocoa producing country. It is also the fifth largest exporter of coffee after Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia and Mexico. Together, the two crops have enabled the country to consolidate its economic development, with relatively few problems.

It would be wrong, however, to paint too rosy a picture of the benefits derived from these key agricultural products. In the late 1970's the world price of both crops suffered unprecedented falls. Combined with other structural factors at home, Côte d'Ivoire was plunged into a long period of decline. The crisis revealed just how fragile the economy was, with its heavy dependence on a few export products and vulnerability to world price fluctuations. But in 1994 the economy began to show signs of recovery and has been continuing to develop its economic base ever since.

Coffee and cocoa - "green gold"

There is no disputing the importance of coffee and cocoa to Côte d'Ivoire's economy. These two raw materials have been dubbed the country's "green gold" because of the big contribution they have made to development. Following the "crisis years", coffee and cocoa prices have bounced back to reasonable levels. They now represent a third of agricultural added value, about 7% of gross domestic product and some 46% of the total exports. The two sectors provide jobs for 60% of the working population, and there are about three million small-scale planters.

Liberalisation

Since 1993 the government has gradually been playing a less influential role in the production and management sectors and liberalisation of the coffee/cocoa sector is well under way. The aim is for the state no longer to be the principal player in the management of production, particularly where the domestic and foreign marketing of these products is concerned. It will be some time, however, before the effect of liberalisation on the country's economy - and on the situation of planters and private companies - can be assessed. Another target area for liberalisation is palm oil.

Environmental factors

Many areas of Côte d'Ivoire suffer from significant soil erosion - something which needs to be taken into account when implementing agricultural policies. Much of the country is severely deforested. This is the result of ill thought out timber exploitation and uncontrolled development of coffee and cocoa plantations. For example, plans are under way to build a new cocoa processing plant which is due to open at the end of the 1998/99 season. Although the plant will add significantly to the country's ability to process cocoa beans, large areas of nearby rainforest have been cleared to make way for the site. It is estimated that between 100,000 and 150,000 tonnes of cocoa and coffee are produced in protected areas.

Statistical information