Business
According to countryaah, the Central African Republic is a prominent agricultural country. The country’s economic development is hampered by its geographical location far from the sea, poorly developed or substandard transport routes and fluctuating world market prices for some of the dominant export products. Furthermore, economic policy has often failed, and climate factors such as drought have hit agriculture.
The country has for many years been in deficit in the exchange of goods and services with the outside world. This has led to great dependence on loans and assistance; the largest contributor is France.
- According to abbreviationfinder, CT is the 2 letter abbreviation for the country of Central African Republic.
Denomination assumed with the proclamation of independence (December 1958) from the former territory (French Equatorial Africa) of the Ubanghi-Sciari (v. XXXIV, p. 593 and see also French equatorial africa, I, p. 809; App. II, 1, p. 84). In its 617,000 km 2 of surface it counted (in 1957) 1,134,436 residents. The easy penetration, the abundant summer rains and a healthy climate for both humans and cattle make Ubanghi-Sciari the region of greatest attraction of the AEF, for which the French government had already promoted the cultivation of cotton, as well as increased that of peanuts and cattle breeding. From the 44,000 bales of 1932-33, cotton production has now risen to an annual average of 132,000. A recent plantation crop is that of coffee.
There are gold and diamond deposits in the country. The production of diamonds is around 140,000 carats, centered in Berberati. The most important centers (Bangassu and Bambari), mostly large markets, gravitate towards the Congo basin. The master Bangui is the most developed center (80,000 residents); it overlooks the banks of Ubanghi and is connected by a road to Yaundé, the capital of Cameroon, while communicating with Brazzaville through Ubanghi and Congo.
The Republic, like the Territory, is divided into 11 regions, which group 37 districts.
Agriculture and forestry
Agriculture is the dominant industry (with 75 percent of the country’s working population). Agriculture is mainly conducted in the tropical rainforest region in the southwest and on the savanna in the central and northwest parts of the country. The most important forage crops are coffee and cotton, but the replacement crops, mainly millet and cassava, dominate. The production of peanuts is also significant. However, the population is growing faster than food production, and 20 percent must be imported. The government has tried to stimulate the production of, among other things, rice.
The Central African Republic has large forest resources, mainly in the form of tropical rainforests in the western parts of the country. However, a poorly developed transport network prevents felling on a larger scale. Only 10 percent of the forest area is accessible by the river road.
Minerals and energy
Of the Central African Republic’s precious natural resources, diamonds are of the greatest importance. Extraction takes place mainly in the western part of the country. Since the end of the 1960s, the official production figures have shown a large reduction. This is largely due to extensive diamond smuggling, mainly Congo. According to official calculations, the value of the smuggling amounts to double the official production. Gold is also extracted, but the size of the production varies considerably. Uranium reserves have been found near Bakouma.
The Central African Republic is heavily dependent on oil imports, which account for 70 percent of commercial energy supplies. Water energy accounts for 22 percent; two power plants at M’Balifallen account for about 80 percent of production. Oil shortages occur periodically, which interferes with industrial production.
Industry
The Central African Republic has a very poorly developed industry. The majority is concentrated in the Bangui area. The textile and leather industry dominates, but there is also some food industry.
Foreign trade
The country is highly dependent on a few export products: diamonds, timber, cotton and coffee. The most important import goods are food, oil, textiles, machinery and vehicles. The largest trading partners are France, USA, India and China.