'04-05 exports up 23.5 pc at $ 1.4 billion
India's trade with W. Africa exceeds $2 billion
By David Sinate

The West Africa region can be divided into two distinct groups: the CFA zone comprising eight countries - Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo - and the non-CFA zone, consisting of Cape Verde, Ghana, Guinea, the Gambia, Mauritania, Nigeria, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Trade Relations with India
The countries in the West African region are important trading partners for India. During the period 2002-03 to 2004-05, India's total trade (exports plus imports) with the region has risen from US$ 1.5 billion to US$ 2.1 billion, underlined by the rise in both exports to and imports from the region. During the year 2004-05, the region accounted for 27 percent of India's total exports to, and 18.2 percent of India's total imports from the African continent India's exports to the West African countries have increased from US$ 975 million in 2002-03 to US$ 1455 million 2004-05, while India's imports from the region have also gone up from US$ 510 million to US$ 684 million during the period (Table 1 & Chart 1). During the year 2004-05, India's exports to the region registered a robust rise of 23.5 percent, while India's imports from the region exhibited a higher rise of 25.7 percent.
Table 1: India's Trade with West Africa (US$ mn)

Nigeria is the leading market for India's exports to the region, accounting for 42.2 percent of India's total exports to the region in 2004-05, followed by followed by Togo, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal (Chart 2).

As regards imports, Senegal is the leading supplier, with a share of 25 percent of India's total imports from the region during 2004-05, followed by Côte d'Ivoire, Benin, Guinea-Bissau and Ghana (Chart 3).

Drugs and pharmaceuticals, petroleum products, non-basmati rice, manufactures of metals, primary & semi-finished iron and steel, cotton yarn and fabrics, readymade cotton garments, manmade yarn and fabrics, machinery and instruments, transport equipment, jute manufactures, paper/wood products and rubber manufactured products are some of India's important exports to the West African region. Nigeria, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire and Guinea are amongst the top ten destinations for India's global exports of non-basmati rice exports, while Nigeria, Ghana and Guinea are important markets for drugs & pharmaceuticals. Further, cotton yarn and fabrics are mainly exported into Niger, Togo, Benin, Mauritania, Nigeria and Ghana.




In the case of imports, raw cotton, metaliferrous ores and metal scrap, cashew nuts, wood & wood products, organic and inorganic chemicals, and printed books & newspapers are India's major imports from the region. Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Benin and Ghana are major suppliers of cashew nuts to India, while Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire and Mali are major sources of India's imports of raw cotton.
Author is Deputy General Manager, Export-Import Bank of India