Burkina Faso Export

Export.gov provides a portal to all export-related assistance and market information offered by the federal government and provides trade leads, free export counseling, help with the export process, and more. ...

In 1995, the Peace Corps program resumed, after a 10-year absence, with volunteers working in rural health and education. In 2004, over 90 Peace Corps Volunteers will be in Burkina Faso, including those working in a new sector of small business development. U.S. trade with Burkina is still extremely limited--$10.9 million in U.S. exports and $900,000 in Burkinabe exports to the U.S. in 2003--but investment possibilities exist, especially in the mining and communications sectors. ... [Read More]

Burkina Faso

SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES:   Burkina Faso's customs authorities may enforce strict regulations concerning export from Burkina Faso of items such as masks, religious materials, and antiquities.  The director of the National Museum has stated that all exportation of objects of art (old or traditional artists' works, and all old material of the national cultural patrimony) is subject to the prior approval of the Ministry of Culture.  You may contact the Embassy of Burkina Faso in Washington (see contact information in the Entry Requirements section above) for specific information regarding customs requirements. ... [Read More]

Country Commercial Guide

Burkina’s economy is dominated by the primary sector(agriculture, livestock, poultry, pisciculture), which accounts for nearly 40% of exportearnings. Economic reforms have boosted export values. Cotton export earnings, whichaccount for about 35% of Burkina’s foreign exchange, is expected to increase to 60%by year 2000 as the production increased by 30% in 1997. The government projects thatincreases in cotton earnings could quickly eliminate Burkina’s trade imbalance ifBurkina could produce 500,000 tons per year by year 2000 and if world cotton prices aremaintained. ... [Read More]

Burkina Faso

Children The Constitution nominally protects children's rights. The Government demonstrated its commitment to improve the condition of children by continuing efforts, in cooperation with donors, to revitalize primary health care by focusing on care for nursing mothers and infants; vaccination campaigns for measles, meningitis, and other illnesses; and health education. The Government allotted approximately 25 percent of the national budget to education, and the law provides for free compulsory education; however, the Government lacked the means to provide universal, free primary education. If a child qualified on the basis of grades and social condition (that is, the family was "poor"), tuition-free education could continue through junior high and high school. In practice the family condition requirement often was ignored, giving many children a tuition-free education through high school. Children still were responsible for paying for school supplies, an ... [Read More]

Burkina Faso

Unions have the right to bargain directly with employers and industry associations for wages and other benefits, and there was extensive collective bargaining in the modern wage sector; however, it encompassed only a small percentage of workers. There are no export processing zones. ... [Read More]

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legislation and banned from export: on no account must they be purchased or ... [Read More]

Signatories to the 1970 UNESCO Convention

1 Amended listings of the signatories to the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property" are published by the United States in the Federal Register. The Cultural Property staff keeps an updated list of signers in the interim.  ... [Read More]

United States Ambassador to Tanzania, Charles R. Stith

During his visit to Tanzania, Secretary Slater invited Minister Nyanda to be one of the select African delegates to address the International Transportation in Washington D.C., October 9-12. Slater also announced that he and Export-Import Bank Chairman James M. Harmon had signed a Memorandum of Cooperation to encourage countries participating in the "Safe Skies for Africa Initiative" (including Tanzania) to implement the initiative’s goals of making sustainable improvements in aviation safety, airport security and air navigation across the continent. back to Past Issues   OR    Ambassadors StatementSorry, you need a JavaScript capable browser to get the best from this page [Read More]

USIS Washington File: WORLD BANK REPORTS LDC DEBT LEVELS UP SLIGHTLY IN 1997

South Asia: Disbursements from official creditors -- which hold 75 percent of the region's debt -- boosted slightly the stock of debt to $139,000 million in 1997. More than half of the official debt is owed to multilateral financial institutions. The region's ability to service their debt improved slightly last year and is indicative of a regional trend during most of the decade. The ratio of debt-to-exports fell from 194 percent in 1996 to 180 percent in 1997 while the debt service ratio was roughly stable at 21 percent. In 1990, the debt-to-export ratio was 317 percent and the debt service ratio was 28 percent. The trend reflects a more than doubling of export receipts since 1990, avoidance of debt restructuring, and the high share of concessional debt (53 percent of total debt of the region in 1997, compared with the 20 percent average for developing countries). ... [Read More]

Benin (07/05)

Export.gov provides a portal to all export-related assistance and market information offered by the federal government and provides trade leads, free export counseling, help with the export process, and more. ...

Benin's economy is chiefly based on agriculture. Cotton accounts for 40% of GDP and roughly 80% of official export receipts. There also is production of textiles, palm products, and cocoa. Corn, beans, rice, peanuts, cashews, pineapples, cassava, yams, and other various tubers are grown for local subsistence. Benin began producing a modest quantity of offshore oil in October 1982. Production ceased in recent years but exploration of new sites is ongoing. A modest fishing fleet provides fish and shrimp for local subsistence and export to Europe. A number of formerly government-owned commercial activities are now privatized, and the government, consistent with its commitments to the IMF and World Bank, has plans to continue on this path. Smaller businesses are privately owned by Beninese citizens, but some firms are foreign owned, primarily French and Lebanese. The private commercial and agricultural sectors remain the principal contributors to growth. ... [Read More]