Ouagadougou: Gold remains Burkina Faso's main export commodity, with revenues amounting to 2,394.7 billion CFA francs in 2023, or 74.6% of the country's total exports, according to the 2023 annual report on the balance of payments and international investment position, received by the AIB on Friday.

According to Burkina Information Agency, this performance is mainly attributable to the rise in world gold prices. Gold thus retains its leading position in exports, recording an increase of 1.4% compared to 2022. Prospects for improvement are possible thanks to the operationalization of refining and mining residue processing units, and the fight against fraud.

Gold, cotton, live animals, cashew nuts, and cement are the main export products, together accounting for more than 80% of foreign sales revenue. Strengthening the industrialization policy could further broaden the export base.

In the services sector, the recovery in tourism activity, combined with the fall in freight costs, has helped to reduce the structural deficit in the services balance, mainly caused by the weight of freight service paid to non-residents, which is around 16% of the value of goods exports.

The year 2023 saw the strongest growth in travel revenue since 2015, with a surplus of 18.3 billion CFA francs. This performance is due in particular to the holding of major events such as SIAO, FESPACO, SNC, the Tour du Faso, and SITHO.

Furthermore, the report notes a 16% decline in the primary income account. "Due to the predominant share of payments made to non-residents who hold majority shares in operating mining industries, primary income flows resulted in net resource outflows of 544.4 billion in 2023, below the net resource outflows of 647.8 billion recorded in 2022," the report states.

Implementing a policy encouraging the mobilization of domestic capital to invest in the mining sector could increase the share of income captured by residents in the form of dividends.