In the first half of 2021, the trade balance deficit widened further by 52 billion CFA francs (up 7.5%) compared to the first half of 2020 and stood at 744 billion CFA francs.
This increase in the trade deficit resulted from the increase in import expenditure of 15.4% compared to the first half of 2020; the 21.5% increase in export earnings recorded over the same period was not sufficient to cover import expenditure.
The coverage rate improved by 3 percentage points to stand at 59.2%, as against 56.2% in the first half of 2020; thus reflecting a stronger relative growth of exports (21.5%) compared to imports (15.4%).
Excluding crude oil, the trade balance deficit stood at 1,170 billion CFA francs, thus worsening by 152 billion CFA francs (15.0%) compared to the first half of 2020.
