Imports in February 2023 were estimated at 563.2 billion FCFA compared to 586.7 billion FCFA in the previous month, a contraction of 4.0%.

The National Agency for Statistics and Demography (ANSD) explains that the evolution of imports in February 2023 was explained by the fall in foreign purchases of articles made of base metal (-33.1%), pharmaceutical products (-30.7%), products of pharmaceutical (-24.8%) and wheat and steel industries (-15.6%). The rise in imports of maize (+128.2%), petroleum products (95.6%), equipment and appliances (+46.1%) and animal and vegetable oils and fats (2.4%) moderated this contraction. Compared to February 2022, imports increased by 42.7% according to ANSD. Their total at the end of February 2023 stood at 1,150.0 billion FCFA compared to 951.4 billion FCFA for the same period in 2022, an increase of 20.9%

During the period under review, the main imported products were finished petroleum products (150.3 billion FCFA), crude petroleum oil (59.0 billion FCFA), machinery and equipment (57.4 billion FCFA), and rice (27.1 billion FCFA). Nigeria (11.0%), Belgium (8.2%), France (8.0%), Russia (7.7%), China (6.9%) and the Netherlands (4.5%)