Gambia Major Export Products and Countries 2014 -2015

In 2015 the value of the Gambia’s total exports dropped from D4.3 billion in 2014 to D3.8 billion in 2015 representing a decrease of 11.4%. This was due to a fall in the value of re-export to the ECOWAS region. This article reviews the Gambia major export products and countries in 2014 and 2015.

For the period under review, the EU and the Asia continued to be the main export Market for Gambian domestic products. The share of exports to EU increased significantly compare to 2014 from 3% to 12%. This increment resulted from the strong exports of Groundnut and Fish and Fishery products to the EU Markets. The share of exports to Asia has also increased from 5% in 2014 to 7% in 2015. However, the share of exports to the ECOWAS region was dropped from 91% in 2014 to 81% in 2015 mainly due drop in re-export trade to the ECOWAS region.

The main domestic exports in 2015 are groundnut products, Cashew, fish and fishery products, fruits and vegetables, iron and steel.

Main domestic exported products (2015)

The main domestically exported products from the Gambia in 2015 were groundnut 32.7%, followed by cashew nuts 20.6%, and then fish and fisheries products (13.6%). These three products accounted for 70% of the total value of Gambia’s domestic exports.

The main domestic export products in 2015

Products	FOB Value (D'000)	As % of Domestic exports
Groundnut and related products( nuts and cake)	218,410	32.7
Cashew nuts	137,481	20.6
Fish and fishery products	90,664	13.6
Animal or vegetable fats and oils	52,183	7.8
Preparations of vegetables, fruit and nuts	22,219	3.3
Beverages, spirits and vinegar	7,963	1.2
Printed books and newspapers	1,734	0.3
Preparations of meat, of fish	1,449	0.2
Iron and steel	865	0.1

Gambia Export to the ECOWAS Region

The ECOWAS region remained the main market for the Gambia’s exports in 2015, although these were predominantly re-exports. The value of exports to the region decreased from D3.9 billion in 2014 to D3.1 billion constituting a fall of 21%. The main domestic exported products to ECOWAS region was fish and fishery products while the main re-exports product was textiles which constituted 86% of total re-exports to ECOWAS. Other re-export products included wood and articles of wood and dairy products.The main destinations for Gambia’s exports to the ECOWAS region were Mali, Guinea, Senegal, Guinea and Guinea Bissau.

Direction of exports to ECOWAS by country in 2015

Country	FOB Value (D'000)	As % of exports
Mali	1,839,393	59.3
Guinea	703,224	22.7
Senegal	503,525	16.2
Guinea-Bissau	52,898	1.7
Togo	1,937	0.06
Nigeria	970	0.03
Benin	568	0.02
Others	312	0.01
Total ECOWAS	3,102,828	100

Main re-exported products to the ECOWAS region in 2015

Products	FOB Value "D'000)	As % of exports
Textiles	2,662,377	85.8
Wood and Articles of Wood	93,057	3
Dairy Products	91,027	2.9
Preparations of Cereals	29,892	1
Other made up Textile Articles	28,404	0.9
Miscellaneous Edible Preparations	27,610	0.9
Preparations of Vegetables, Fruits and Nuts	23,296	0.8
Coffee, Tea, Mat and Spices	16,371	0.5
Petroleum Products	15,209	0.5
Edible Oil	12,982	0.4
Vehicles and Spare Parts	10,518	0.3
Electrical Machinery and Equipment and Parts	8,123	0.3
Preparations of Meat, of Fish	6,965	0.2
Iron and Steel	5,732	0.2
Plastics and Articles thereof	5,584	0.2
Preparation of Cereals	4,663	0.2
Machinery and Mechanical Appliances	4,146	0.1
Sugar and Sugar Confectionery	3,146	0.1

Gambia Export to the Asia Region

The total value of exports to Asia increased from D205.5 million in 2014 to D253.4 million in 2015 up by 23.3%. This is mainly due to the strong exports of groundnuts and cashew to the Asian region. In addition, the share of exports to Asia as a percentage of total exports increased from 5% in 2014 to 7% in 2015. The main exported products to this market are groundnuts, cashew nuts, fishery products and wood and article of woods. Groundnut exports constituted the highest value at D121 million representing 48% of all the products exported to Asia.

The main export markets in Asia were Vietnam, Singapore, China and India representing 48%, 16.7%, 16.6%, and 15.9% respectively.

Direction of exports to Asia by country in 2015

Country	FOB Value (D'000)	As % of exports
Viet Nam	121,609	48
Singapore	42,388	16.7
China	42,014	16.6
India	40,417	15.9
Thailand	2,653	1
Israel	1,248	0.5
United Arab Emirates	554	0.2
Others	1,619	0.6
Total Asia	253,402	100

Main exported products to Asia in 2015

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The Gambia Export to EU Region

The EU remain one of the main destination for the Gambia’s domestic exports which significantly increased from D143.8 million in 2014 to D446.4 million in 2015, up by 210%.This increment is also attributed to the increase in the export of groundnuts to the EU Markets.The share of exports to the EU increased from 3% in 2014 to 12% in 2015. The main exported products to the EU during this period are groundnuts, fish and fisheries products, cashew nuts and groundnut oil. These four products represented 60.3% of all the Gambian products exported to the EU market.

France, Germany, Denmark, United Kingdom and Netherlands were the main export markets in the EU, accounting for 50.4%, 15.4%, 9.7%, 8.0% and 5.7% respectively. These five countries represented 89.2% of the total export to the EU 2015.

Direction of exports to the EU by country in 2015

Country	FOB Value (D'000)	As % of exports
France	225,198	50.4
Germany	68,815	15.4
Denmark	43,169	9.7
United Kingdom	35,581	8
Netherlands	25,593	5.7
Sweden	24,164	5.4
Italy	11,093	2.5
Belgium	5,948	1.3
Spain	3,599	0.8
Others	3,242	0.7
Total EU	446,402	100

Main exported products to the EU in 2015

Products	FOB Value (D'000)	As % of exports to EU
Groundnut	107,727	24.1
Fish and Fishery products	55,780	12.5
Cashew nuts	53,647	12
Edible oil	52,183	11.7
Preparations of vegetables	8,252	1.85
Printed books and newspapers	1,734	0.39
Wood and articles of wood	193	0.04
Other made up textile articles	133	0.03

The Gambia Export to Americas

The total value of exports to the Americas increased in 2015 compare to 2014 from D2.2 billion to 2.5 billion up by 14.5%. This is due to the strong exports of cashew nuts and processed groundnut (groundnut cake) to the Americas. The main export market was United States (96.6%).

Main exported products to Americas in 2015