Xifres de comerç exterior de Gabon

Foreign Trade in Figures

Foreign trade account for 70% of the country's GDP (World Bank, 2020). Customs duties are relatively high and some other non-tariff barriers also exist, aiming to protect the local industries. Gabon mainly exports mineral fuels and oils, manganese ores, wood products and ferro-alloys; and mainly imports machinery, boats, electrical machinery, meat and other food products, vehicles, cereals, mineral fuels, iron, plastics, and pharmaceutical products (ITC, 2020).

Gabon's main trading partners are China, the United States, Ireland, the Republic of Korea and the Netherlands (UNCTAD, 2020). France, Belgium and China are Gabon’s main suppliers (France Ministry of Economy). Gabon is a member of the CEMAC (Monetary and Economic Community of Central Africa), which through the Monetary Union of Central Africa provides its six members with a common currency, the CFA franc, which is pegged to the euro. The country is also a member of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), but the economic integration of the group's eleven member states is far from being complete. Gabon has also signed the African Continental Free Trade Agreement.

Gabon’s trade balance is structurally in surplus, thanks to the revenues generated by oil exports. In 2020, total exports of goods amounted to USD 4.9 billion while total imports reached USD 2.94 billion, resulting in a comfortable trade surplus. On the side of service, in 2016, Gabon’s service export amounted to 357 million USD while its services import cost 1.79 billion USD (WTO).