01Key Takeaways
- Togo exported $1.46 billion worth of goods in 2023, up 8.0% from $1.35 billion in 2022, a fourth consecutive year of growth and the most recent year with verified trade data available in this dataset.
- Salt, cement and mineral materials led every export category at 22.8% ($331.48 million), with mineral fuels ranking a close second at 14.0% ($203.19 million).
- India was Togo's largest export market, absorbing 22.5% of exports, worth $327.24 million.
- The top three export partners together accounted for 40.1% of total export value.
025-Year Trend
| Year | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $1.0B | $978.7M | $1.1B | $1.3B | $1.5B |
03Top Export Markets (2023)
| Rank | Partner | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India | $327.2M | 22.5% |
| 2 | Burkina Faso | $133.3M | 9.2% |
| 3 | Benin | $122.6M | 8.4% |
| 4 | Mali | $113.9M | 7.8% |
| 5 | Côte d’Ivoire | $98.4M | 6.8% |
| 6 | France | $94.6M | 6.5% |
| 7 | Ghana | $78.6M | 5.4% |
| 8 | United States | $60.6M | 4.2% |
| 9 | Niger | $52.8M | 3.6% |
| 10 | Senegal | $51.6M | 3.5% |
04Top Export Categories (2023)
| Rank | Category | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Salt; Sulphur; Earths and Stone; Plastering Materials, Lime and Cement | $331.5M | 22.8% |
| 2 | Mineral Fuels, Mineral Oils and Products of their Distillation; Bituminous Substances; Mineral Waxes | $203.2M | 14.0% |
| 3 | Plastics and Articles thereof | $125.5M | 8.6% |
| 4 | Animal or Vegetable Fats and Oils and their Cleavage Products; Prepared Edible Fats; Animal or Vegetable Waxes | $97.2M | 6.7% |
| 5 | Residues and Waste from the Food Industries; Prepared Animal Fodder | $84.7M | 5.8% |
| 6 | Essential Oils and Resinoids; Perfumery, Cosmetic or Toilet Preparations | $83.7M | 5.7% |
| 7 | Oil Seeds and Oleaginous Fruits; Miscellaneous Grains, Seeds and Fruit; Industrial or Medicinal Plants; Straw and Fodder | $72.4M | 5.0% |
| 8 | Cotton | $66.5M | 4.6% |
| 9 | Vehicles other than Railway or Tramway Rolling-Stock, and parts and accessories thereof | $50.5M | 3.5% |
| 10 | Prepared Feathers and Down and Articles made of Feathers or of Down; Artificial Flowers; Articles of Human Hair | $45.4M | 3.1% |
05Trade Partner Map
06Analysis
Export Value Has Climbed for Four Straight Years
Togo exported $1.46 billion worth of goods in 2023, up 8.0% from $1.35 billion in 2022. This is the most recent year with verified trade data available in this dataset. The dataset covers a full five years, from 2019 through 2023, tracking a small West African economy through a mostly upward stretch.
Export value stood at $1.01 billion in 2019. It fell slightly to $978.69 million in 2020, the low point of this five-year window, before climbing steadily for three consecutive years. Export value reached $1.06 billion in 2021, then jumped more sharply to $1.35 billion in 2022, and $1.46 billion in 2023, the high point of this five-year window.
This dataset does not explain the small 2020 dip or the three-year climb in export value that followed it. Export value in 2023 sits at the highest point in this five-year window, extending a run that has continued largely uninterrupted since 2020. Growth of 8.0% in 2023 is slower than the pace set in 2022, but it still marks the fourth increase in the last four years. That steady, sustained climb sets this five-year window apart from economies covered elsewhere in this dataset where a single sharp spike or a sudden reversal dominates the picture.
Mineral Materials and Fuels Anchor a Diversified Export List
Salt, sulphur, earths, stone and cement led every export category in 2023, worth $331.48 million, or 22.8% of the total, the largest single category on this list. Mineral fuels ranked a close second at 14.0%, worth $203.19 million. Plastics rounded out a top three at 8.6%, worth $125.50 million, well behind the top two.
Animal and vegetable fats and oils added 6.7%, worth $97.18 million, and food industry residues and prepared animal fodder contributed 5.8%, worth $84.65 million. Essential oils, perfumery and cosmetic preparations added 5.7%, worth $83.69 million. These middle-ranked categories sit within a single percentage point of each other, forming a tight cluster beneath the more separated top three.
Oil seeds contributed 5.0% ($72.44 million), and cotton added 4.6% ($66.50 million). Vehicles contributed 3.5% ($50.47 million), and feathers, down and artificial flowers closed out the top ten at 3.1%, worth $45.43 million, the smallest share among the ten categories listed here. This list spreads relatively evenly across mining, agriculture and manufactured goods. No single category outside the top spot comes close to matching the near-quarter share held by the leading entry. Cotton's presence on this list points to an agricultural export tradition that runs alongside the mineral and fuel categories dominating the top of the ranking.
India Leads a Partner List Anchored in Togo's Role as a Regional Trade Gateway
India was Togo's largest export market in 2023, taking 22.5% of exports, worth $327.24 million. Burkina Faso ranked second at 9.2%, worth $133.31 million. Benin followed at 8.4%, worth $122.63 million. Together, these top three partners accounted for 40.1% of total export value, a moderate concentration compared with the far more extreme clustering seen among some other economies in this dataset.
Mali contributed 7.8% ($113.93 million), and Côte d’Ivoire added 6.8% ($98.42 million), rounding out a top five made up almost entirely of neighboring West African markets. Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso together accounted for more than 90% of transit through Togo's Port of Lomé in 2022. Landlocked Burkina Faso relies on that port as its main gateway to the sea, a pattern reflected in all three countries ranking among Togo's top export partners.
France followed at 6.5% ($94.62 million), and Ghana added 5.4% ($78.64 million). United States contributed 4.2% ($60.58 million), and Niger added 3.6% ($52.85 million). Senegal closed out the top ten at 3.5%, worth $51.63 million, the smallest share among the ten partners listed here. Six of these ten partners are West African economies, consistent with Togo's role as a transit gateway for the region. Ranks four through ten here are packed within roughly four percentage points of each other, a far tighter cluster than the wide gap separating India from the rest of this list.
Taken together, this dataset's most recent confirmed year describes an export profile built around mineral materials, fuels and agricultural goods, extending a four-year run of uninterrupted growth. That profile is sold to a partner base combining a major overseas market in India with a cluster of West African neighbors that depend on Togo's port infrastructure.