Madagascar: Visió econòmica i política
Foreign trade accounts for 70% of Madagascar’s GDP (World Bank), a country that collects a large share of its revenues in the form of customs duties, import taxes, and VAT on imports. The country is a member of the WTO and COMESA (Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa) and does not have significant non-tariff barriers. In addition, most products can be imported without an import license. In 2022, the country mainly exported unwrought nickel (24.7%), vanilla cloves (15.1% - traditionally the leading export, Madagascar accounting for a large share of global production), whole fruit, cloves, and stems (7.8%), cobalt mattes and other intermediate products (6.2%), and textiles. Its main imports included petroleum oils (18.0%), rice (5.9%), palm oil and its fractions (2.9%), sulphur (2.8%), and fabrics (2.7% - data Comtrade).
In 2022, Madagascar’s main customers were the United States (16.5%), France (15.7%), China (14.2%), Japan (12.0%), and the Netherlands (4.5%); whereas imports came chiefly from China (21.5%), Oman (11.0%), India (10.0%), South Africa (4.9%), and France (4.8% - data Comtrade). Despite its abundant resources, Madagascar still struggles to channel its trade revenues into further development. Like other island states, Madagascar faces high transportation costs. The lack of well-developed infrastructure makes commercial transactions expensive, hindering private sector competitiveness. However, the country aims to improve logistics at the main ports and airports to improve trade. While the European Union is by far the largest client of Malagasy products, exports to member states of the North American Free Trade Agreement have received a huge boost since 2017 following a decision by the United States to reinstate Madagascar in its trade preference program (Africa Growth and Opportunity Act).
The country's trade balance has been traditionally negative and despite a steady increase in exports, this trend is unlikely to be reversed over the medium-term as imports continue to outpace exports. In 2022, merchandise exports amounted to USD 3.6 billion, while imports reached USD 5.4 billion (WTO). According to data from the Central Bank, in the first nine months of 2023, exports declined by 15.7% y-o-y while imports increased by 15.3%, thus widening the country’s trade deficit, mostly due to the drop in vanilla exports which almost halved.
Foreign Trade Values | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
Imports of Goods (million USD) | 3,942 | 3,221 | 4,408 | 5,613 | 4,750 |
Exports of Goods (million USD) | 2,696 | 2,026 | 2,726 | 3,721 | 3,213 |
Imports of Services (million USD) | 1,228 | 870 | 1,092 | 1,524 | 0 |
Exports of Services (million USD) | 1,469 | 641 | 654 | 1,142 | 0 |
Source: World Trade Organisation (WTO) ; Latest available data
Foreign Trade Indicators | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
Foreign Trade (in % of GDP) | 67.8 | 62.6 | 49.0 | 54.5 | 71.2 |
Trade Balance (million USD) | -458 | -844 | -900 | -969 | -970 |
Trade Balance (Including Service) (million USD) | -414 | -603 | -1,129 | -1,407 | -1,352 |
Imports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) | 11.1 | 4.6 | -16.6 | 12.7 | 19.8 |
Exports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) | 2.4 | 10.9 | -36.6 | 55.0 | 27.5 |
Imports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) | 36.3 | 34.2 | 28.9 | 31.7 | 40.1 |
Exports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) | 31.5 | 28.4 | 20.1 | 22.8 | 31.1 |
Source: World Bank ; Latest available data
Foreign Trade Forecasts | 2024 | 2025 (e) | 2026 (e) | 2027 (e) | 2028 (e) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Volume of exports of goods and services (Annual % change) | 0.2 | 16.1 | 8.5 | 9.9 | 7.5 |
Volume of imports of goods and services (Annual % change) | -1.1 | 13.8 | 8.9 | 7.1 | 7.2 |
Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook ; Latest available data
Note: (e) Estimated Data
Main Customers (% of Exports) |
2023 |
France | 14.5% |
United States | 12.6% |
Japan | 8.2% |
South Korea | 8.2% |
China | 8.1% |
See More Countries | 48.3% |
Main Suppliers (% of Imports) |
2023 |
China | 17.0% |
Oman | 13.5% |
France | 11.2% |
India | 8.7% |
South Africa | 5.5% |
See More Countries | 44.0% |
Source: Comtrade, 2024. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.
Source: Comtrade, 2024. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.
To go further, check out our service Import-Export Flows.
1.1 bn USD of services exported in 2022 | |
33.44% | |
Personal travelPersonal travel | 33.00% |
OtherOther | 35.64% |
Business travelBusiness travel | 0.44% |
30.92% | |
21.73% | |
10.44% | |
2.06% | |
0.61% | |
0.46% | |
0.27% | |
0.06% | |
0.02% |
1.5 bn USD of services imported in 2022 | |
51.39% | |
14.92% | |
13.00% | |
11.48% | |
Personal travelPersonal travel | 10.77% |
OtherOther | 37.14% |
Business travelBusiness travel | 0.71% |
5.71% | |
1.11% | |
0.89% | |
0.65% | |
0.54% | |
0.31% |
Source: United Nations Statistics Division, 2024. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.
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Actualitzacions: November 2024