The World Bank released the first edition of its economic outlook report for Togo last Wednesday, October 25. Entitled "Unlocking the country's growth potential", this 50-page document, which will henceforth be published annually, offers a detailed analysis of Togo's current economic situation and outlook.

The report was unveiled by Marc Stocker, Senior Economist and Amevi Rocard Kouwoayé, Economist at the World Bank. It highlights Togo’s solid strategy of trade openness and the implementation of targeted and ambitious structural reforms, which put the country on an upward growth trajectory.

The study forecasts that Togo should achieve economic growth estimated at 5.2% for the years 2023 and 2024, underpinned by consumer spending and private investment. The latter could increase by 10 percentage points by 2030. Looking further ahead, the report expects the country to record a growth of 5.8% in 2025, and reach around 7% in the longer term; provided that structural reforms are implemented.

"The main reforms concern the agricultural sector. One of the priorities is securing access to land, a lever for stimulating investment, improving productivity and increasing the sector's competitiveness. In addition, the development of irrigated agriculture is essential and requires substantial investment," Marc Stocker told Togo First in an interview.

The World Bank economist underscored Togo's resilience, pointing out that despite challenges, the country has significant growth potential. However, private investment is key to exploit this potential and develop sustainably.

One of the report’s main findings concerns the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The authors believe it has the potential to make Togo attract more international investors. This, they claim, could cause foreign direct investment in the country to rise by about 135% by 2035. However, for the prediction to materialize, more regulatory reforms and trade facilitation are needed, according to the report.

"The implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area is an important opportunity for Togo, as it could lead to a doubling of the stock of foreign investment by 2035. It is also an opportunity to develop cross-border trade, which plays a crucial role, particularly in the agricultural sector," said Fily Sissoko, World Bank Resident Representative for Togo.

The report also recommends greater social inclusion and more support for vulnerable people. Reducing socio-economic disparities and guaranteeing equitable access to basic services are essential to the well-being of all Togolese, said the World Bank authors.

"A major challenge facing the government is being able to sustain this growth while bringing back fiscal balances. This is a priority to avoid increasing the debt burden at the expense of social programs", noted Marc Stoker, Senior Economist at the Bretton Woods institution.

Fiacre E. Kakpo

ARISE IIP, the firm that operates Togo’s Industrial Platform of Adétikopé, may get €250 million to support the development of four industrial platforms in Africa, including Togo and Benin.

The International Finance Corporation is examining the financing project, with its board set to deliberate next December 22.

According to IFC information, the funds will be allocated to the development of special economic zones (SEZs) and industrial parks, notably the Industrial Platform of Adétikopé (PIA) in Togo, the Glo Djigbé industrial zone (GDIZ) in Benin, the Industrial Platform of Congo (PIC) in the Republic of Congo, and Special Economic Zone of Bugesera (BSEZ) in Rwanda. The total investment is €870 million, including €30 million for Togo.

PIA Phase II

In Togo, phase II of the PIA will be developed in Zio, a municipality located around 27 km from Lomé (and about 9.7 km east of where Phase I was deployed). The second phase will be deployed over 328 hectares; under this phase, a 260m-wide industrial zone will be built)

The IFC’s support–capped at €250 million–includes a loan of €63 million, €107 million in parallel loans, and a loan of €80 million from the IDA. It is worth recalling that last June, ARISE IIP secured $400 million from Afreximbank, a credit facility.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Mauritania’s telecom regulator, ARE, closed a two-day workshop with its Togolese counterpart, ARCEP, on October 24. The meeting was an occasion for the ARE to learn from the Togolese watchdog. 

During the two days, the Mauritanian delegation looked at how the ARCEP handles data-based regulation, with a focus on monitoring and measuring the quality of service (QoS) of mobile networks and the quality of customer experience (QoE) of users of said networks. They also covered the regulatory framework and digital transformation in Togo.

Based on what it learned from the ARCEP, the ARE should implement similar solutions in Mauritania.

The two regulators, after the meeting, announced an upcoming partnership agreement to “continue discussions on other relevant regulation issues.”

This is the third time that a foreign telecom regulator has sent a delegation to Togo. The first two were from Côte d’Ivoire and Comoros.

Esaïe Edoh

Togo imported CFA449.64 billion worth of goods in Q2 2023. The figure was recently reported by the country’s Institute of Statistics, INSEED. Compared to the previous quarter, it is 0.5% up. Meanwhile, the trade deficit increased by 0.7% between the first and second quarters.

Main suppliers

Between April and June 2023, China, India, and Turkey were Togo’s main suppliers. The first ranked first, totaling 17.2% of the country’s imports, with a value of CFA77.52 billion (128,333 tons). India followed with a share of 9.5%, totaling CFA42.71 billion. Turkey was third. Togo’s imports from there stood at CFA38.29 billion. Right behind were France (8.1%), Morocco (4.3%) and Japan (4.2%).

Read also: Togo: Exports generated CFA212.25 billion in Q2 2023

Major imports

Urea was the most imported product over the quarter reviewed. Togo imported around 36,000 tons of Urea, valued at CFA23.5 billion in Q2 2023. It represented 5.2% of all Togolese imports over the period. Next came vehicles and drugs, which made up respectively 5.1% and 4.7% of all imports. Value-wise, Togo spent CFA22.97 billion and CFA21.31 billion, respectively, on these products.

At the end of the spectrum, Togo spent CFA212.2 billion on its exports in Q2 2023. The trade balance was thus in deficit–CFA237.392 billion. 

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Turkey’s new ambassador to Togo, Muteber Kilic, wants to help deepen the cooperation between the two countries. She voiced the ambition during a meeting with Togolese Prime Minister, Victoire Tomegah-Dogbe, on October 24. 

In detail, the diplomat eyes stronger relations in the agriculture, tourism, and trade sectors. 

"Turkey can bring a lot, especially in terms of experience in these sectors- agriculture, tourism- but also on the development of relations on an economic and commercial level," said Muteber Kilic.

While cooperation between Turkey and Togo is still embryonic on the agriculture and tourism fronts, trade between the two nations generated nearly $200 million last year, according to the Turkish ambassador. "And we'll be able to do much better in the coming years", she stressed, before adding that "Togo is on the right track" and that "together, we'll be able to assist it towards development".

Togo and Turkey have been working to improve their cooperation since 2020. In this framework, they have signed several deals and memoranda of understanding. Among others, they set up a mechanism for political consulting between their respective foreign affairs ministries; and agreed on a mutual visa exemption for official passport holders. They also signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation between the Togolese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Turkish Diplomatic Academy.

In October 2021, Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, officially visited Togo, for the first time.

Esaïe Edoh

Inflation kept improving in Togo in recent months. From 6.6% in August, it fell to 6.2% in September, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INSEED).

The decline was mainly driven by lower prices for food products ("Food products and non-alcoholic beverages", which fell by -2.4%) and "Leisure and culture" (-1.4%). This brought the National Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (NHICP) down 0.5% from its level the month before. On the other hand, prices of housing (housing, water, gas, electricity, and other fuels), transportation, clothing and footwear, alcoholic drinks, tobacco, and narcotics were up. Housing rose by 2.2%, transportation by 0.8%, clothing and footwear by 0.5%, and the alcoholic drinks and narcotics group recorded a price surge of 4.6%.

Quarterly

Over the quarter ended in September, the general price level was down by 1.9% compared to the previous quarter. This was mainly due to a fall in the index for "Food products and non-alcoholic beverages" (-5.5% over the quarter). 

Year-on-year, prices in Togo remained relatively stable, but inflation soared significantly, at the national, sub-regional, and global levels. Indeed, compared with September 2022, the general price level rose by 3.6%.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Togolese exports amounted to CFA212.25 billion in Q2 2023. The figure, disclosed by the country’s Institute of Statistics (INSEED), corresponds to 993,316.5 tons of goods. Value-wise, the exports were up by only 0.2% compared to the previous quarter. 

Phosphate still on top

During the quarter reviewed, the 10 most exported goods made up 67.7% of the total export value reported.

Phosphorus products (natural calcium phosphates, natural alumino-calcium phosphates, and phosphate chalk) came ahead, accounting for 23.7% of the total or CFA50.33 billion. 

They were followed by "Petroleum or bituminous mineral oils (excluding crude oils) and preparations", whose exports totaled CFA18.5 billion. Then came "Prepared beauty or make-up products and preparations for the maintenance or care of the skin," which earned the country CFA12.43 billion.

Compared to Q2 2022, exports in Q2 2023 rose by 16.8% in value, and 26.8% in volume. Imports also rose, by 5.6% in value, and 3.7% in volume. Despite these improvements, the country’s trade deficit slumped by 2.8%.

Main buyers: India leads 

Regarding its export destinations, Togo mainly sold to a group of 10 countries, led by India which absorbed 16.6% of all Togolese exports, by value (CFA35.27 billion).  Benin was second with 23.75 billion FCFA in value, representing 11.2% of the total.

Burkina Faso, France, and Mali complete the top five destinations, with shares of 8.9%, 8.6%, and 7.5% respectively.

Trade balance still in deficit

Imports stood at CGA449.64 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of CFA237.39 billion. 

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Lomé is hosting since October 23 a five-day regional meeting on civil aviation. Gathered at the roundtable are WAEMU experts and technical executives of the sector.

Participants will plan and draw short, medium, and long-term forecasts for air operations; economic factors and other data involved in the development of ground plans; and the assessment of the capacity of facilities and services.

The drawn plans will enable airports of the WAEMU region to comply with the new standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

"Master plans are intended to support the modernization of existing airfields regardless of their size, complexity, or role. They provide information on the types of improvements to be made progressively," said the General Manager of Société Aéroportuaire de Lomé Tokoin (SALT), Colonel Dimini Allahare.

According to the WAEMU Commission, the meeting in Lomé will also tackle the lack of master plans, or vision, for many airports across the WAEMU.

In line with efforts to modernize the facility, officials of the Lomé airport said a "master plan for the period 2024-2044 has been announced, with other projects that will help position Lomé airport as a hub for air traffic in West Africa".

In 2012, a major modernization project was launched; a new terminal was subsequently built and commissioned in 2016.

Esaïe Edoh

The Togolese government recently adopted a decree to regulate the use of public transport vehicles, including taxis, taxi-bikes, and tuk-tuks. The decree was adopted last week at the Council of Ministers. 

The move aims to tackle several issues, such as road insecurity, air pollution, and low profits in the public transport sector. 

Drawn in collaboration with representatives of professional transport organizations, the decree sets clear rules for public transportation drivers. Among others, they will need a permit issued by the Ministry of transport and an authorization certificate from the territorial collectivities.

The measures should enable "better organization of public transport, professionalization of the sector's players, better identification of cabs and their scope of activity, as well as improved road safety and better comfort for passengers", according to the Council. 

A few weeks before the decree’s adoption, the government held a meeting with actors of the transport sector. On the occasion, the authorities said the actors had two years to comply with the new regulations adopted in 2022. 

"Persons previously engaged in public transport by cab, motorcycle cab or tricycle have twenty-four months to comply with the new provisions", the government indicated.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

The Togolese minister of water and rural hydraulics, Yark Damehane, launched last Friday the third phase of the PASSCO, a project to improve health conditions in rural and school environments. Under this phase, 200,000 people in rural areas will get drinking water by 2025. 

In detail, 850 boreholes will be built and equipped with manual pumps. The French Development Agency (AFD) will finance this part of the project with CFA6.5 billion. 

During the first two phases of the PASSCO project, 844 boreholes were built. The third phase, according to Minister Damehane, will help the government achieve universal access to water, a goal it aims to reach by 2030.

"Access to drinking water must be an absolute priority in our quest for development. This stems from the Head of State's vision, the government's roadmap for the period 2020-2025, and our commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular SDG 6," Damehane said.

Esaïe Edoh