Côte d'Ivoire Import Trade Data: $18.84B in 2023, Up 5.3%

Mineral Fuels Dominate an Import Bill Increasingly Supplied by Nigeria

Côte d'Ivoire imported $18.84 billion worth of goods in 2023. That was up 5.3% from $17.89 billion the year before. Mineral fuels led every import category by a wide margin, worth $4.80 billion, or 25.5% of total import value. Nigeria ranked second among suppliers at 14.0% ($2.64 billion), and the two figures are closely connected. Nigeria's Dangote refinery has ramped up fuel exports across West Africa. It has been shipping gasoline and diesel to neighboring markets, including Côte d'Ivoire, as the plant reaches full capacity. That flow is a recent shift. Côte d'Ivoire has historically sourced much of its refined fuel from farther afield. A large regional refinery next door changes the economics of that trade.

Machinery and mechanical appliances followed at 8.4% ($1.58 billion). Ships, boats and floating structures ranked third at 7.8% ($1.47 billion). That is an unusually large share for a category that typically reflects a handful of large one-off purchases rather than routine trade. Côte d'Ivoire has been actively modernizing its navy in recent years, taking delivery of patrol vessels from Israel, France, and China as part of a broader push to police its Atlantic coastline and exclusive economic zone. A handful of large vessel purchases like these can move the needle on a national import total more than routine year-round trade in smaller goods ever would. Vehicles added 6.4% ($1.21 billion), and cereals, likely dominated by rice and wheat, contributed 5.3% ($1.00 billion). Electrical machinery took 4.5% ($854.3 million). Fish and crustaceans added 4.5% ($841.0 million), reflecting demand well beyond what the country's own Atlantic fishing fleet supplies. Frozen fish in particular is a staple protein source across coastal West Africa, and much of it arrives through large-scale imports rather than local catch. Plastics contributed 3.7% ($702.6 million), iron or steel articles 3.0% ($569.1 million), and pharmaceutical products closed out the top ten at 2.5% ($478.1 million).

China and Nigeria Together Supply Nearly Three in Ten Import Dollars

China ranked first among suppliers, providing 14.8% of imports, worth $2.80 billion. Nigeria followed closely at 14.0% ($2.64 billion), the fuel relationship described above accounting for much of that figure. France ranked third at 5.6% ($1.05 billion), a legacy of the colonial-era trading relationship that has never fully faded. French firms still supply a wide range of machinery, pharmaceuticals, and specialized industrial goods to former West African colonies, and Côte d'Ivoire remains one of the larger markets in that network. Together, China, Nigeria, and France accounted for 34.5% of total import value.

India supplied 5.2% ($982.7 million), and United States followed at 3.9% ($736.1 million). Belgium took 3.4% ($647.8 million), and Germany added 3.1% ($578.9 million). Croatia ranked eighth at 3.0% ($559.6 million), an unusually large figure for a European country with no obvious historical tie to Côte d'Ivoire. Given how prominent ships and floating structures are among Ivorian imports, at least part of that total plausibly reflects vessel-related trade. It's likely not routine consumer or industrial goods. Russia supplied 2.6% ($499.1 million), and a further 2.4% ($449.5 million) is recorded under unspecified sources in the trade data.

Imports Have Nearly Doubled Since 2019

Côte d'Ivoire's imports have grown in every year since 2019, without the pandemic-era dip that shows up in most other countries' trade figures. The total stood at $10.48 billion in 2019. It edged up slightly to $10.53 billion in 2020, essentially flat rather than falling. Imports then jumped to $13.97 billion in 2021, climbed further to $17.89 billion in 2022, and reached $18.84 billion in 2023, a 5.3% increase. That five-year run leaves the 2023 total well above where imports stood at the start of the period, with growth in every single year.

That steadiness contrasts with the sharper swings visible on Côte d'Ivoire's export side, where cocoa price volatility drives much bigger year-to-year shifts. A more diversified import bill, spread across fuel, machinery, vehicles, and food staples, tends to move more predictably. An export list concentrated in a handful of commodities does not. A growing population and an expanding urban middle class also help explain why imports keep climbing regardless of what happens to global commodity prices, since fuel, vehicles, and food staples reflect everyday domestic demand rather than export-market swings. For a closer look at how individual partner countries or product categories moved year over year, the data panels above provide the full detail behind these figures.