| Overview |
Cote
d'Ivoire is among the world's largest producers and exporters
of coffee, cocoa beans, and palm oil. Consequently, the economy
is highly sensitive to fluctuations in international prices
for these products and to weather conditions. Despite government
attempts to diversify the economy, it is still largely dependent
on agriculture and related activities, which engage roughly
68% of the population. After several years of lagging performance,
the Ivorian economy began a comeback in 1994, due to the 50%
devaluation of the CFA franc and improved prices for cocoa
and coffee, growth in nontraditional primary exports such
as pineapples and rubber, limited trade and banking liberalization,
offshore oil and gas discoveries, and generous external financing
and debt rescheduling by multilateral lenders and France.
Moreover, government adherence to donor-mandated reforms led
to a jump in growth to 5% annually during 1996-99. Growth
was negative in 2000-02 because of the difficulty of meeting
the conditions of international donors, continued low prices
of key exports, and severe civil war fighting. |
| Industries |
foodstuffs,
beverages; wood products, oil refining, truck and bus assembly,
textiles, fertilizer, building materials, electricity |
