Chad's Trade Profile: Oil Out, Machinery In

A Landlocked Sahelian Economy's Lifelines

Chad (Central Africa, 1.28M km², ~18M people) runs a classic resource-export / manufactured-import structure.

Major Exports (2023 est., UN Comtrade)

• Crude Petroleum: ~90% of export value (~$2.5B). Chad-Cameroon Pipeline (1,070 km) → Kribi port. Operators: ExxonMobil, Petronas, Chevron (via Esso).
• Cotton: ~5–7% (~$150M). CotonTchad (state-majority) gins & exports lint; smallholder farmers (~200k).
• Live Cattle/Meat: ~2–3% (~$60M). Sahelian herds → Nigeria, Cameroon (informal cross-border trade significant).
• Gum Arabic: ~1–2% (~$30M). Wild-harvested Acacia senegal; top-5 global exporter.
• Sesame Seeds: Emerging — ~$20M. Chinese/Indian demand rising.
• Gold (artisanal): ~$10–15M (largely unrecorded).

Major Imports (2023 est.)

• Machinery & Transport Equipment: ~30% (~$400M). Oilfield gear, generators, trucks, agricultural machinery.
• Food & Live Animals: ~20% (~$270M). Rice, wheat flour, sugar, milk powder, vegetable oil — chronic food deficit.
• Petroleum Products: ~15% (~$200M). Refined fuel (no domestic refinery; Djarmaya 20k bpd stalled).
• Pharmaceuticals & Chemicals: ~10% (~$130M).
• Textiles & Apparel: ~8% (~$100M). Secondhand clothing (friperie) dominates market.
• Construction Materials: Cement, steel, roofing.

Structural Constraints

• Landlocked: 1,000+ km to Douala (Cameroon) port — high freight costs, corridor delays.
• Insecurity: Lake Chad Basin (Boko Haram), North (rebels), East (Sudan spillover) — disrupts trade routes.
• Institutions: Customs corruption, weak contract enforcement, informal economy ~50%.
• Dutch Disease: Oil appreciation hurts cotton/livestock competitiveness.

Regional Integration

• CEMAC (CFA franc, BEAC) — fixed € peg, common external tariff.
• AfCFTA — potential for Sahelian market access.

Chad's trade = oil pays for everything else. Diversification remains aspirational.