Located on the continent’s northeast extremity known as the Horn of Africa, the Federal Republic of Somalia shipped US$123.8 million worth of exported products around the globe in 2022.

That estimated dollar amount reflects a -74.7% drop from $488.7 million five years earlier in 2018.

Year over year, the overall value of Somalian exported goods fell by -75.9% compared to $514.6 million during 2021.

Most Valuable Somalian Trade Partners

The latest available country-specific data shows that 82.6% worth of products exported from Somalia were bought by importers in: Bulgaria (15.7% of the Somalian total), France (13%), India (12.6%), Germany (8.5%), Bahrain (7.7%), Qatar (7.5%), mainland China (6%), Japan (3.6%), Senegal (2.6%), Türkiye (2.2%), Macao (1.9%) and Pakistan (1.5%).

From a continental perspective, 46.5% of Somalia’s exports by value was delivered to fellow Asian countries while 44.3% was sold to importers in Europe. Somalia shipped another 6.8% worth of goods to Africa.

Smaller percentages went to buyers in North America (1.2%), Latin America (0.9%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, then Oceania’s Australia, New Zealand and French Polynesia (0.2%).

Given Somalia’s population of 15.6 million people, its estimated $123.8 million in 2022 exports translates to roughly $8 for every resident in the Horn of Africa country. That dollar metric is lower than the average $11 per capita one year earlier in 2021.

Somalia’s Top 10 Exports

The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Somali 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 Somalia.

1. Gums, resins, other vegetable saps: US$33.3 million (26.9% of total exports)
2. Fish: $17.8 million (14.4%)
3. Live animals: $17.7 million (14.3%)
4. Paper, paper items: $12.6 million (10.1%)
5. Oil seeds: $9.2 million (7.4%)
6. Iron, steel: $8.2 million (6.6%)
7. Gems, precious metals: $7 million (5.7%)
8. Electrical machinery, equipment: $3.2 million (2.6%)
9. Copper: $2.5 million (2%)
10. Raw hides, skins not furskins, leather: $2.4 million (2%)

Somalia’s top 10 exports accounted for 92.1% of the overall value of its global shipments.

Paper including items made from paper was the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 38.7% from 2021 to 2022.

In second place for improving export sales was copper via a 37.9% advance.

Somalia’s shipments of gums, resins and other vegetable saps posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 10.8%.

The severest decliner among Somalia’s top 10 export categories was live animals, pulled down by a -93.2% year-over-year reduction.

At the more granular four-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, natural gums, resins and balsams represent Somalia’s most valuable exported product at 26.9% of the country’s total. In second place were live sheep and goats (12%), paper containers and cellulose wadding (10.1%), oil seeds (7.3%), iron or steel scrap (6.6%), moluscs (6.5%), coins (5.2%), frozen whole fish (4.8%), dried, salted or smoke fish (2.4%), then live bovine cattle (2.3%).

Products Creating Somalia’s Best Trade Surpluses

The following types of Somali 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. Gums, resins, other vegetable saps: US$32.3 million (Up by 10.5% since 2021)
2. Fish: $16.3 million (Down by -32.5%)
3. Live animals: $14.9 million (Down by -94.2%)
4. Gems, precious metals: $6.4 million (Down by -71.1%)
5. Oil seeds: $4.7 million (Down by -85.7%)
6. Raw hides, skins not furskins, leather: $2.4 million (Down by -20%)
7. Copper: $2.1 million (Up by 59.3%)
8. Ores, slag, ash: $253,000 (Reversing a -$75,000 deficit)
9. Lead: $175,000 (Up by 25.9%)
10. Miscellaneous animal-origin products: $28,000 (Reversing a -$231,000 deficit)

Somalia has highly positive net exports in the international trade of gums, resins and other vegetable saps. In turn, these cashflows indicate Somalia’s strong competitive advantages under the related product category.

Products Causing Somalia’s Largest Trade Deficits

Overall Somalia incurred an estimated -$3.4 billion trade deficit for 2022, shrinking by -26.4% from -$4.61 billion in red ink one year earlier in 2021.

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

1. Sugar, sugar confectionery: -US$431.1 million (Up by 18.1% since 2021)
2. Cereals: -$293.5 million (Up by 32%)
3. Vegetables: -$266.3 million (Down by -27.5%)
4. Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: -$173.3 million (Down by -13.8%)
5. Iron, steel: -$168.8 million (Down by -7.6%)
6. Electrical machinery, equipment: -$162.6 million (Down by -59.1%)
7. Articles of iron or steel: -$134.8 million (Up by 15%)
8. Manmade staple fibers: -$131.9 million (Down by -14.8%)
9. Cereal/milk preparations: -$130 million (Down by -32.6%)
10. Milling products, malt, starches: -$126.4 million (Down by -0.2%)

Somalia has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits under food-related categories sugar including sugar confectionery, cereals and vegetables product categories.

Somali Export Companies

Not one Somali corporation ranks among the Forbes Global 2000.

Wikipedia also lists exports-related companies from Somalia. Selected examples are shown below.

• Bosaso Tannery (product tanning)
• Hafun Fishing Company (fish)
• International Bank of Somalia (commercial bank)
• KAAH Electric (electricity)
• Somafone (telecommunications)
• Somalia Petroleum Corporation (oil, gas)

 
In macroeconomic terms, Somalia’s total exported goods represent an estimated 0.6% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2022 ($20.7 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 0.6% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2022 compares to 0.9% for 2021. Those metrics suggest a relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Somalia’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.

Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Somalia’s unemployment rate averaged 20.05% in 2022, up from an average 19.86% one year earlier in 2021 according to Trading Economics.

Somalia’s capital city is Mogadishu.

See also South Sudan’s Top 10 Exports, Saudi Arabia’s Top 10 Imports, Angola’s Top 10 Exports and Top African Export Countries

Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Africa: Somalia. Accessed on September 8, 2023

FlagPictures.org, Flag of Somalia. Accessed on September 8, 2023

Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on September 8, 2023

International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on September 8, 2023

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on September 8, 2023

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on September 8, 2023

Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on September 8, 2023

Wikipedia, List of Companies of Somalia. Accessed on September 8, 2023

Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on September 8, 2023

Wikipedia, Somalia. Accessed on September 8, 2023

World’s Capital Cities, Capital Facts for Mogadishu, Somalia. Accessed on September 8, 2023