Wednesday, March 7, 2012

How Does Madagascar Make Money?

As a first step to learning about the Malagasy economy, I wanted to find out what my country imports and exports.  Even though I am from Madagascar, I can't say that I am fully aware of what my country makes and what it sends to the rest of the world.


I used a couple of different sources to find out the answers to my questions. The most helpful ones were: World Bank, the IMF, the CIA World Factbook. I found the information provided by these websites on Madagascar's economy turned out to be very similar.

In my research, I found out that Madagascar's top three export commodities are: coffee (45%), Vanilla (20%), and shellfish (15%). Coming from a region where vanilla grows the most in Madagascar, it was no surprise to see that vanilla made the list, because I have seen how busy it gets when it's vanilla season. From exporting these goods, Madagascar makes up to $ 1.407 billion a year, according to the CIA Factbook.

When I got this information, I was wondering which countries Madagascar sells its product to. Madagascar's top export partners are: France 26.3%, US 9.2%, China 8.5%, Netherlands 6.4%, Germany 5.6%, Canada 4.4%, and Spain 4.3%.

Compared to its export, Madagascar imports a lot more goods that it exports. Madagascar's top import commodities are: Boilers, machinery, nuclear reactors (14.9%); Mineral fuels, oils, distillation products (13.3%); Electrical and electronic equipment (7.9%); Articles of iron and steel (7.9%); and Vehicles other than railway (6.2%). The amount of money that Madagascar spends on import a year is twice as much as the amount of money gained from exporting, which is $ 3.653 billion.

Madagascar's export and import have some partners in common such as China 14.6% and France 11.4%. However, the country also imports from other countries like South Africa 6.4%, India 5.4%, Bahrain 4.6%, and Singapore 4.1%.

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