A landlocked Central African nation, the Republic of Chad shipped US$3.86 billion worth of exported products around the world in 2022.

That estimated dollar amount results from a 127.4% increase from $1.7 billion in 2018.

Year over year, the overall value of goods exported from Chad accelerated by 29% compared to $3 billion for 2021.

Based on the average exchange rate for 2022, Chad uses the Central African CFA franc which depreciated by -12.3% against the US dollar since 2018 and declined up by -12.5% from 2021 to 2022. Chad’s weaker local currency makes its exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively less expensive for international buyers.

Chad’s top 3 most valuable exported products by value are crude oil, oil seeds, then uncarded and uncombed cotton. Collectively, that trio of exports represent 99% of exports sold by Chad in 2022. Such a high percentage reflects Chad’s extremely concentrated portfolio of exported goods.

Chad’s Major Trading Partners

The latest available country-specific data shows that 99.9% of products exported from Chad were bought by importers in: Germany (32% of the Chadian total), mainland China (28.1%), Taiwan (13.3%), Netherlands (11.7%), France (10.9%), Türkiye (3%), Indonesia (0.4%), India (0.16%), United States of America (0.13%), Thailand (0.07%), United Kingdom (0.03%) and Egypt (also 0.03%).

From a continental perspective, 54.6% of Chad’s exports by value were delivered to customers located in European countries while 45.1% was sold to importers in Asia. Chad shipped another 0.13% worth of goods to buyers in North America.

Smaller percentages went to importers in fellow African countries (0.05%), Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean (0.03%), then Oceania’s New Zealand and Australia (0.001%).

Given Chad’s population of 17.4 million people, its total $3.86 billion in 2022 exports translates to roughly $225 for every resident in the Central African country. That dollar metric outpaces the average $130 per capita one year earlier during 2021.

Chad’s Top 10 Exports

The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Chadian global shipments during 2022 at the 2-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Chad.

1. Mineral fuels including oil: US$3.7 billion (95.3% of total exports)
2. Oil seeds: $114.1 million (3%)
3. Cotton: $31.9 million (0.8%)
4. Gums, resins, other vegetable saps: $31 million (0.8%)
5. Toys, games: $892,000 (0.02%)
6. Gems, precious metals: $738,000 (0.02%)
7. Electrical machinery, equipment: $614,000 (0.02%)
8. Raw hides, skins not furskins, leather: $501,000 (0.01%)
9. Fertilizers: $470,000 (0.01%)
10. Machinery including computers: $463,000 (0.01%)

Chad’s top 10 exports accounted for 99.9% of the overall value of its global shipments.

Toys and games was the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 8,009% from 2021 to 2022.

In second place for improving export sales was cotton via a 362.3% advance.

Chad’s shipments of mineral fuels including oil posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 78.8%.

The leading decliner among Chad’s top 10 export categories was gems and precious metals, dragged down by a -99.9% year-over-year drop. Gold was a major loser under this product category.

Drilling down to 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System codes, Chad’s most valuable exported goods in 2022 were crude oil (95.3% of its overall total), oil seeds (3%), uncarded and uncombed cotton (0.8%), natural gums, resins and balsams (also 0.8%), table games or bowling equipment (0.02%), coins (also 0.02%), and fertilizer mixes (0.01%).

Products Behind Chad’s Biggest Trade Surpluses

Chad generated an estimated US$3 billion product trade surplus for 2022, expanding by 74.3% from $1.7 billion in black ink one year earlier in 2021.

The following types of Chadian product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.

In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.

1. Mineral fuels including oil: US$3.7 billion (Up by 80.9% since 2021)
2. Oil seeds: $113.4 million (Down by -14.8%)
3. Gums, resins, other vegetable saps: $30.8 million (Up by 51.6%)
4. Cotton: $27.7 million (Up by 478%)
5. Raw hides, skins not furskins, leather: $496,000 (Up by 11.5%)
6. Toys, games: $51,000 (Reversing an -$855,000 deficit)

Chad has highly positive net exports principally in the international trade of crude petroleum oil. In turn, these cashflows indicate Chad’s competitive advantages under the mineral fuels-related product category.

Products Causing Chad’s Worst Trade Deficits

Below are exports from Chad that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Chad’s goods trail Chadian importer spending on foreign products.

1. Electrical machinery, equipment: -US$167.7 million (Up by 58.2% since 2021)
2. Pharmaceuticals: -$117.1 million (Up by 66.8%)
3. Machinery including computers: -$88.7 million (Up by 2.3%)
4. Cereal/milk preparations: -$46.6 million (Up by 33.7%)
5. Vehicles: -$44.8 million (Down by -70.4%)
6. Other chemical goods: -$41 million (Up by 84.5%)
7. Articles of iron or steel: -$34.6 million (Down by -36.6%)
8. Iron, steel: -$30.6 million (Down by -59.5%)
9. Miscellaneous food preparations: -$28.7 million (Down by -11.5%)
10. Plastics, plastic articles: -$27.8 million (Down by -11.7%)

Chad has negative net exports and therefore international trade deficits notably under the electrical machinery and equipment product category, as well as for pharmaceuticals.

Chadian Export Companies

Not one Chadian corporation ranks among the Forbes Global 2000 listing.

Wikipedia also lists companies from Chad that participate in international trade transactions. Selected examples are shown below.

• Commercial Bank Chad (bank)
• Cotontchad (cotton)
• Mid Express Tchad (cargo airliner)

 
In macroeconomic terms, Chad’s total exported goods represent an estimated 12.9% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2022 ($29.8 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 12.9% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2022 compares to roughly 8.2% for 2021. Those percentages suggest a relatively increasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Chad’s total economic performance, albeit based on relatively short timeframe.

Another key indicator of a country’s economic health is its unemployment rate. Chad’s jobless rate averaged 1.4% for 2022, down from an average 1.5% in 2021.

Chad’s capital city is N’Djamena.

See also Germany’s Top Trading Partners, Uganda’s Top 10 Exports, Somalia’s Top 10 Exports and Top African Export Countries

Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Africa: Chad. Accessed on September 28, 2023

FlagPictures.org, Flag of Chad. Accessed on September 28, 2023

Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on September 28, 2023

International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Databases (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on September 28, 2023

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on September 28, 2023

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on September 28, 2023

Wikipedia, Chad. Accessed on September 28, 2023

Wikipedia, List of Companies of Chad. Accessed on September 28, 2023

World’s Capital Cities, Capital Facts for N’Djamena, Chad. Accessed on September 28, 2023