The leading imports are machinery and food products. Refined petroleum products also account for much of the nation's imports, along with cement, clinker, and fertilizers. Cotton is Burkina Faso's largest export (57%), with gold in second place (17%), and animal products coming in third. Vegetables, leather, oil seeds, and animal hides account for about 20% of exports.
Principal trading partners in 1998 (in millions of US dollars) were as follows:
COUNTRY | EXPORTS | IMPORTS | BALANCE |
Italy | 26 | 15 | 11 |
France | 18 | 208 | -190 |
Thailand | 15 | 2 | 13 |
Germany | 8 | 13 | -5 |
China (inc. Hong Kong) | 7 | 15 | -8 |
Belgium | 1 | 23 | -22 |
Côte d'Ivoire | n.a. | 173 | n.a |
Vietnam | n.a. | 15 | n.a. |
Nigeria | n.a. | 15 | n.a. |
United States | n.a. | 22 | n.a. |
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