Between 1950 and 1975, Côte d'Ivoire had far fewer problems with its balance of payments than did most other African states (see table 7, Appendix). Exports increased at a faster rate than the gross national product (GNP--see Glossary), with real expansion averaging 9 percent per year from 1962 to 1975. Until 1978 the balance of trade was invariably positive. Export earnings from coffee and cocoa rose consistently as production grew, and earnings surged when world market prices for coffee and cocoa increased. In the boom period from 1974 to 1977, export earnings soared, peaking in 1977 with a record trade surplus of almost CFA F100 billion.
In 1979 lower prices for coffee and cocoa, coupled with higher prices for imports, especially crude oil, sharply cut the trade surplus to what was then an unprecedented CFA F1.880 billion. In subsequent years, as the volume of exports rose (notwithstanding weaker coffee and cocoa prices) and as government-imposed austerity measures cut imports, trade surplus figures stabilized at about CFA F30 billion a year.
Data as of November 1988