Some of the economic consequences for Burkina Faso of the Crisis in the Ivory Coast

In the north of the country it is above all the cattle breeders who are worried (many farmers are also cattle breeders). With the crisis in the Ivory Coast, by which the country is divided in two, the road to Abidjan is blocked. No one is buying cattle. Prices have fallen.

A few days ago I was in Ouahigouya, 180 kms north of Ouagadougou. I met some leaders of the organisations for cattle breeder and small farmers. One cattle breeder there stayed silent for the whole meeting except for the occasional exclamation: “It is difficult, difficult”. No one is buying cattle. You would be happy if you can sell a cow for 70,000 CFA (a little more than 100 Euros) when three months ago you would have sold it for 150,000 CFA (230 euros). The price of good Bali-Bali sheep has fallen from 50,000 to 20,000 CFA; Guinea Fowl from 1,200 CFA to 425 CFA.

Another important aspect: the immigrants from Burkina Faso used to regularly send money home to their families. An example of this: many school children and college students depend on a relative working in the Ivory Coast to pay their school fees. This money no longer arrives. As a consequence the future education of many young people is now in doubt. As the number of young people in this situation is high, the school and college principals are also anxious: school fees are no longer coming in. How will they pay the teachers? Will they have to close their colleges and schools?

Cotton producers are also worried. They are raising their voices to declare that they should not be left to support the supplementary costs of exportation. Since the road to Abidjan is cut, the cotton exports must pass through the port of Cotonou in Benin. This adds an extra 25 F CFA per kilogramme; a loss of 4.2 billion F CFA to the country.  

It is true that at this time the world market price of cotton has risen by about 50 cents per pound. However, the dollar has fallen in relation to the euro and so the situation is still problematic. All the same, Burkina Faso should be able to balance more or less its books. However, at the level of the state, the net profit has fallen.