Côte d'Ivoire ranks first among all banana-producing countries in Africa

Côte d'Ivoire is at the top of the list of African countries with a production of around 450,000 tonnes of dessert bananas in 2019. The country is declared to have a turnover of 145 billion Fcfa, or 7 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 3 percent of national GDP.

Although the performance is highly lauded by the experts, still some major challenges persist that indicate an analysis of the competitiveness of the dessert banana sector established by the National Observatory on the Competitiveness of Enterprises (ONCE) in association with the Executive Secretariat of the State or Private Sector Consultation Committee.

Côte d'Ivoire, according to the analysis, is confronting a severe competition from the countries of Central and South America, given the large quantity of dessert bananas exported by these states to the European Union (4.6 million tonnes compared with 1.2 million tonnes for ACP countries) and the context of trade liberalization.

The banana sector in Côte d'Ivoire represents 9,000 direct jobs and 35,000 indirect jobs. The low consumption of bananas on the local market, the still low yield ratio per hectare (50 tonnes / hectare), and the high production costs (access to inputs, transportation costs, etc.) are factors hindering competitiveness of the sector.

Faced with these different challenges, industry players in the Organization of Producers-Exporters of Bananas, Pineapples, Mangoes and other Fruits of Côte d'Ivoire (OBAMCI) are seeking more financial support from the region. 'State towards the sector, a continuation of the policy of installation of new planters, a tax exemption of the fuel used by the operators of the dessert banana and easy access to inputs.