Agriculture occupies an important place in the structure of the country's GDP, almost half of the population is employed in this sector. Ivory Coast has one of the most developed agriculture in West Africa, and the country's government pays great attention to its development. In some positions, the country is a world leader in both production and export.
In the structure of crop production in Ivory Coast, the largest share is occupied by the production of vegetables, root crops and tubers. In 2021, the production of this category of products amounted to 15,546.2 thousand tons, which is 4.9% more than in 2020. In 2017-2021, the growth in the production of vegetables, root crops and tubers remained stable and averaged 4.2% per year. Most of the vegetables, root crops and tubers in the country are represented by the production of yams and cassava. Yams are among the most important crops in Ivory Coast and are one of the main sources of food for the population, so almost all of the products produced go to domestic consumption, exports are insignificant.
Yam production in 2021 amounted to 7,853.1 thousand tons, which is 2.6% higher than in the previous year. Cassava has even higher growth rates. In 2021, 6,961.6 thousand tons of this crop were produced, which is 8.0% more than in 2020, and the average growth for 2017-2021 was 6.7% per year. Cassava is among the main ingredients used in the national cuisines of West Africa, which makes the growth of its production one of the priorities for the agriculture of Ivory Coast.
Ivory Coast is the world's largest producer and exporter of cashew nuts. Production volumes have been growing rapidly over the past decades and by 2021 reached the figure of 837.9 thousand tons. Nevertheless, cashew processing is undeveloped in the country, most of the products are exported raw, and the growth of production indicators is provided extensively by increasing the acreage.
The Ivorian Government is taking measures to stimulate the growth of the processing sector in order to obtain added value from the sale of products.
In 2017-2021, Ivory Coast has seen a general decline in the volume of grain production. The decline in local production was due to unstable indicators of rice production, which decreased by 21.7% compared to 2017. Nevertheless, in 2021, the indicator increased by 12.0% compared to 2020, amounting to 1,659.0 thousand tons. Domestic rice production meets only about half of domestic demand, and the remaining part of consumption is provided by imports. The Government of the country intends to increase the production of this crop in order to achieve full self-sufficiency of Ivory Coast with rice by 2030.
Ivory Coast is one of the world leaders in the production and export of cocoa beans. During 2017-2021, production consistently exceeded 2 million tons per year. The production of cocoa beans is the most important component of the economy, the government pays great attention to the modernization of farms in the south-west of the country, where the production of this type of product is mainly concentrated. In particular, the digitalization of the industry is being carried out in order to achieve greater transparency, which should ensure that products comply with quality standards.
The basis of meat production in Ivory Coast is the meat of wild animals. In 2021, the production rate of this product category amounted to 156.5 thousand tons (+1.4% by 2020). On average, in 2017-2021, the production of this type of meat grew by 0.8% per year.
In the livestock sector, the highest growth rates are observed in the production of poultry meat. In 2021, 70.1 thousand tons of products were produced, which is 19.8% higher than in 2017. The average annual growth in the production of this type of meat for 2017-2021 amounted to 4.6%.
The pig-breeding sector of Ivory Coast has a large number of small pig farms, concentrated mainly in the area of the main metropolis of the country — Abidjan. Pork production in Ivory Coast is relatively small, the volume of which in 2021 amounted to only 13.6 thousand tons (+2.4% by 2020).
The dairy industry produces only cow's milk, of which 31.8 thousand tons were produced in the country in 2021, which is 8.6% lower than 2020.
According to FAO estimates, fish and seafood production in 2021 amounted to 111.8 thousand tons, which is 3.7% higher than in the previous year. The average growth for 2017-2021 was 3.0% per year. Aquaculture in the country is poorly developed, and almost all production volumes of the products in question are provided by catch.
In 2021, Ivory Coast purchased agricultural products for a record $3.2 billion over the past five years, which is 36.9% more than in 2020. The average annual growth rate of imports of agricultural products of the country for 2017-2021 amounted to 9.0%.
The largest share of supplies in the value structure of imports of agricultural products of Ivory Coast by the end of 2021 fell on rice (24.1%) and frozen fish (17.4%). In total, the supply of these agricultural products accounted for 41.5% of the country's value imports or 1,319.7 million US dollars. With the exception of wheat, whose imports declined in 2021 relative to 2020, all agricultural products included in the top 10 showed significant growth rates. The largest increase was demonstrated by the import of sugar beet and cane — in 2021, its imports increased by 94.9% compared to the previous year. A rapid increase in purchases during the period under review was observed for products and canned fish — the average annual growth rate was 30.3%.
In 2021, the main suppliers of agricultural products to Ivory Coast were France with a share of 16.3% (516.2 million US dollars), India (10.6% or 337.9 million US dollars), China (7.9% or 250.9 million US dollars) and Vietnam (7.3% or 231.3 million USD). The share of the top 10 countries accounted for 65.2% of the value of Ivory Coast's imports. The largest growth was demonstrated by Brazil (+76.2%) and Thailand (+63.4%): Brazil increased exports of beet and cane sugar by almost half, while Thailand increased rice supplies by 71.3%.
The export of agricultural products of Ivory Coast significantly exceeds imports. In 2021 The volume of exports reached US$ 7.8 billion, an increase of 10.3% compared to 2020. Before that, the country's exports showed negative dynamics. The indicator of the average annual export growth rate for 2017-2021 remained at an insignificant level — 0.02% per year.
The basis of exports of agricultural products of Ivory Coast are cocoa beans and products of their processing. More than half of the total exports of agricultural products of Ivory Coast account for the supply of cocoa beans (51.3%), 14.3% - for the supply of cocoa paste, 5.6% — for cocoa butter and cocoa fat, 0.9% - for cocoa powder, 0.03% — for cocoa processing waste. Also, a significant share in the export structure in 2021 was occupied by cashew nuts (14.0% or 1,098.3 million US dollars) and bananas (4.0% or 316.5 million US dollars).
The largest increase relative to 2020 was shown by palm oil — its exports in 2021 increased by more than 2 times.
The main importing countries of agricultural products from Ivory Coast in 2021 were the Netherlands (15.9%), the USA (13.7%), Vietnam (11.3%) and France (9.7%) - in total, these countries accounted for 50.6% of the country's exports. The share of the top 10 importing countries in 2021 amounted to 75.7% of Ivory Coast's agricultural exports.
Vietnam, Malaysia and Spain showed a significant increase in the volume of purchases of agricultural products from Ivory Coast in 2021 - +50.9%, +38.1% and +35.4%, respectively. Cashew nuts, cocoa beans, cocoa paste and palm oil became the main commodity items for which purchases increased in these countries.
According to the results of 2021, Russia ranked tenth among the leading importers of food from Ivory Coast - the volume of imports of agricultural products reached 237.5 million US dollars.
