Côte D'ivoire - Industry

Côte d'Ivoire's industrial activity is substantial by African standards. It accounted for 29% of GDP in 2000. The development of processing industries, especially in the Abidjan region, has been significant. Bouaké has become a large industrial center, and numerous thriving industries have been built up in the forest zone of the southern coastal region. These include palm oil mills, soap factories, a flour mill, fruit canning factories, a tuna canning factory, breweries, beer and soft drink plants, rubber processing plants, sugar mills, cotton ginning plants, and coffee-and cocoa-bean processing plants. The chemical and lubricant industries are also significant. In 1998, industrial GDP grew 12% with increased capacity utilization and plant expansion and renovation. Exports of light manufactured goods had increased by 2002.

The lumber industry, producing largely for export, included plywood factories and numerous sawmills. The construction materials industry, comprised of brick works, quarries, and cement plants, experienced an approximate 25% growth rate from 1996 to 1999. The Abidjan airport was completely renovated in 2001, and there are plans to expand the Port of Abidjan.

Recoverable oil reserves in the country amount to 100 million barrels. Petroleum products account for more than 11% of export earnings. The oil refinery at Abidjan produces enough refined petroleum products for the country to be self-sufficient in them. Côte d'Ivoire is known more as an oil-refining country than an oil-producing one. The Abidjan refinery was scheduled for privatization by 2000. Recoverable gas reserves amount to1.1 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), and the country is destined to become a gas exporter.

Cotton production is expanding in the north of the country, and a thriving textile industry has developed around it, including such activities as ginning, spinning, weaving, and printing.

The civil war that began in 2002 inhibited growth in all sectors, from large industry in Abidjan to small artisan work. Fighting prevented raw materials from the north of the country to make their way to businesses and ports in the south.