"IVORY COAST: GATE TO THE AFRICAN MARKET"

Turkish Exporters' Assembly organized “Export Compass” event which is “Route: Ivory Coast” in order to introduce the target markets and tell advantages and risks for Turkish exporters last month.

Ivory Coast is one of the important African Country when exporters would like to enter this region. Also some subsides and supports explained for Turkish exporters.

Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially as the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a sovereign state located in West Africa. Ivory Coast's political capital is Yamoussoukro, and its economic capital and largest city is the port city of Abidjan. Its bordering countries are Guinea and Liberia in the west, Burkina Faso and Mali in the north, and Ghana in the east. The Gulf of Guinea (Atlantic Ocean) is located south of Ivory Coast.

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in high level reciprocal visits between Turkey and the Ivory Coast. Former Ivorian Prime Minister Charles Koffi Diby visited Turkey in December 2014, followed by the visit of President Ouattara in March 2015. During the recent official visit of President Erdoğan to the Ivory Coast on 28-29 February 2016 nine documents between both countries were signed.

Côte d'Ivoire is the largest economy in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), accounting for 40 percent of the region's total GDP. Ivory Coast supplies more than a third of the world's cocoa and its exports for the global chocolate market were worth around 2.5 billion dollars.

Oil and natural gas production are a growing sector of the economy. A major refinery at Abidjan processes crude oil from off-shore rigs. Some petroleum is used locally and the rest is refined into oil products for export.

After independence in 1960, Ivory Coast enjoyed decades of stable government and became the wealthiest country in West Africa, boasting the fourth-largest economy south of the Sahara. Many state-owned companies, including electricity and water utilities were privatized over the last two decades. But with political divisions and coups, the economy slumped during the 1990s. It suffered further during the civil war of 2002 and the recent violence following elections in 2010.

Cote d'Ivoire is the 75th largest export economy in the world and the 96th most complex economy according to the Economic Complexity Index (ECI).

The top exports of Cote d'Ivoire are Cocoa Beans, Refined Petroleum, Cocoa Paste, Coconuts, Brazil Nuts, and Cashews and Gold, using the 1992 revision of the HS (Harmonized System) classification. Its top imports are Crude Petroleum, Rice,Refined Petroleum, Non-fillet Frozen Fish and Cars.

In 2015 Cote d'Ivoire imported $9.4B, making it the 101st largest importer in the world. During the last five years the imports of Cote d'Ivoire have increased at an annualized rate of 3.5%, from $8.19B in 2010 to $9.4B in 2015. The most recent imports are led by Crude Petroleum which represent 14.3% of the total imports of Cote d'Ivoire, followed by Rice, which account for 5.06%.

The trade volume between both countries currently stands at 390 million dollars. Turkish exports to the Ivory Coast are about 115,7 million Dollars while imports stand at around 274,3 million Dollars. Turkish export materials to the Ivory Coast include cement, iron and steel products, power cables, and various alimentary products. Turkey imports cocoa, rubber, wood, and cotton from the Ivory Coast.