This is a best prospect industry sector for this country. Includes a market overview and trade data.
Last Published: 5/15/2019

Overview

Chad’s primary non-oil exports include cotton, gum arabic, and livestock.  By most estimates, 80 percent of Chad’s population relies on agriculture, livestock, or fishing.  The market is primarily domestic.  There is little value-added production of agricultural products.  However, the Government of Chad has prioritized industrialization of agriculture and boosting exports in its 2017 - 2021 national development plan in order to diversify the economy to reduce its dependence on oil exports and increase tax revenue.
 

 

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Total Local Production

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Total Exports

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Total Imports

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Imports from the US
 

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Total Market Size

 

 

 

 

Exchange Rates

 

 

 

 

(total market size = (total local production + imports) - exports)

Leading Sub-Sectors

Leading sub-sectors in agriculture include:  farm tractors; fertilizers; seeds; farming implements; irrigation systems; harvesting equipment; gum arabic; cotton; livestock and livestock products; sesame seeds; peanuts, cashews, dates, and dried fruit; and shea butter, moringa, spirulina, and other natural products.

Opportunities

The Government of Chad seeks to improve agricultural production in Chad through modernization and mechanization.  There is demand for agricultural equipment and inputs from both the government and private sector.  Lack of access to capital is a constraint in this area.  In 2019, the GoC organized an African Agricultural Fair with the aim to contribute to food and nutrition security through the transformation of African Agriculture, support the diversification and development of high value-added, build integration between regional markets of agricultural value chains in Africa and develop capacity-building programs for actors. 
 
Chad is the second largest global producer of premium grade gum arabic.  Chadian producers currently sell to intermediaries and wholesalers to export to the United States, China, and Europe.  Producers are interested in exporting directly to the United States. 
Livestock, including cattle, camels, and goats, present manifold opportunities for investment, particularly construction of feedlots and slaughterhouses meeting the standards of the World Organization for Animal Health, as well as improving laboratories and resuscitating Chad’s capacity to produce animal vaccines.  The Chadian poultry industry offers opportunities in the areas of pharmaceuticals and nutrition. 

Chad is one of the World’s largest suppliers of sesame seed.  White and black sesame seeds are grown in southern and central Chad.  Other foods, e.g. mangos, cashews, peanuts, and dates, are widely grown in Chad but are not packaged, processed, or exported.  This presents an opportunity for U.S. investment. 

There is a growing market for natural products from Chad.  At least one U.S. company is exporting Chadian shea butter to the United States and China.  There is small-scale production of moringa, spirulina, karaya gum, hibiscus, and other natural products.  Chadian producers and intermediaries seek new markets for these goods, and there are opportunities for export and investment in value-added processing and packaging.

Web Resources

Chad Ministry of Agriculture
SAFAGRI

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