Lome visit 21st to23rd May 2014- A brief report

Overview:
Togo is an agrarian economy with high level of poverty. Lome port is one of the deepest ports in
West Africa. Hence, it berths a lot of big vessels. A lot of goods come here on transit to land locked
countries like Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali. Goods are also carried from here to Ghana either on
transit or purchased from the local market. The purchase of Ghana is mainly for textiles due to the
duty differentials.
The business scenario is a little slow in Lome as compared to the past. This is mainly due to the
inefficiency of the Lome port and a major incidence of violence in 2012. The business environment is
relatively encouraging with the duty being a little lower as compared to the neighbouring countries.
The country is peaceful except for the fact that it is unstable during the election period. There is
presidential election in the month of February 2015. So, people expect some violence during the
preceding months to the general election.
The port of Lome is the port of discharge for goods to Burkina, Niger, Mali, Ivory coast and Ghana. A
lot of customers from Burkina and Niger buy documents at Lome port and carry the goods to their
respective countries.
The major exports from the country include Palm kernels, Coffee, ground nut, Cocoa and cotton.
SWOT Analysis

Understand the market potential.
STRENGTHS
Deep and cheap Port
Duty Structure
Market and Transit point
for Land Locked Borders
WEAKNESSES
Very little local consumtion
Stronghold of local people
on re-export
Largely buyer's market.
Presence of a lot of small
suppliers (fence sitters).
Loose regulations at port.
OPPORTUNITIES
Export from land locked
countries
Setting up industries
catering to big markets like
Ghana and Nigeria.
Get involved in local
production of agri goods.
THREATS
Politically unstable during
election years.
Import to take back seat as
emphasis on local
production.
TVA of 18%
Lome visit 21st to23rd May 2014- A brief report

a. Products: ( approximate qty imported every year)
12

Rice
RICE IMPORT (SEMI OR WHOLLY MILLED) QTY IN TONNES

PALM OIL
Palm oil and its fractions refined but not chemically modified
Exporters
2011-Q4 2012-Q1 2012-Q2 2012-Q3 2012-Q4 2013-Q1 2013-Q2 2013-Q3
Qty (Tonnes) Qty (Tonnes) Qty (Tonnes) Qty (Tonnes) Qty (Tonnes) Qty (Tonnes) Qty (Tonnes) Qty (Tonnes)
World 2427.633 1956.897 948.431 1630.923 1507.429 12123.695 3111.919 11102.644
Malaysia 1131.655 669.177 228.399 505.09 1160.278 12123.695 2334.875 10311.824
Ghana 523.487 1287.72 675.05 1063.625 210.351 0 0 627.2
Cte
d'Ivoire 30.487 0 44.982 0 0 0 216 108

Milk Powder
IMPORT Milk powder not exceedg 1.5% fat (value in 000'USD)
Exporters 2011-Q4 2012-Q1 2012-Q2 2012-Q3 2012-Q4 2013-Q1 2013-Q2 2013-Q3
Ireland 2041 2295 3740 2382 2883 1856 3721 3857
Poland 58 0 98 0 146 203 70 143
Others 1 76 137 73 29 74 305 157
TOTAL 2100 2371 3975 2455 3058 2133 4096 4157




1
Table based on data received from
http://www.trademap.org/index.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fCountry_SelCountry_MQ_TS.aspx

2
Sources: ITC calculations based on Direction Gnrale de la Statistique et de la Comptabilit
Nationale (DGSCN) statistics.

Exporters
2011-Q4 2012-Q1 2012-Q2 2012-Q3 2012-Q4 2013-Q1 2013-Q2 2013-Q3
India 0 1750 1870 960 1979.48 0 939.48 2320
Thailand 4983.16 1350.96 2107.845 1314.546 2953.16 9937.224 2953.75 565.444
Viet Nam 799.7 250 0 0 798 0 202.5 219
Hong Kong, China 0 0 0 0 391.012 0 345.21 192
Cambodia 0 0 553.05 0 0 0 0 119.97
Malaysia 0 0 0 0 23 0 0 42.6
Pakistan 256.1 0 260 0 0 0 0 0
Lome visit 21st to23rd May 2014- A brief report

Sugar
Sugars and sugar confectionery
Exporters
2011-Q4 2012-Q1 2012-Q2 2012-Q3 2012-Q4 2013-Q1 2013-Q2 2013-Q3
Qty (Tonnes) Qty (Tonnes) Qty (Tonnes) Qty (Tonnes) Qty (Tonnes) Qty (Tonnes) Qty (Tonnes) Qty (Tonnes)
Total 23,591 19,038 19,968 21,409 21,126 23,166 26,081 26,413
Brazil 17,479 14,348 12,255 14,447 18,125 20,980 20,078 18,637
Guatemala 0 0 0 0 0 0 1,245 3,000
Nicaragua 0 0 2,740 0 0 0 2,300 2,029

2. Understand the market structure in terms of buyers and sellers
Major buyers
3

Customer's Name Qty purchased (monthly) Markets
catered
Remarks
Rice Palm
Oil
Milk
Powder
Sugar
Kasam Sombre 500
ctnrs
Burkina Faso Has own
import. BUys
Documents
SIMPARA
(Mr. Pantom
Comlan) Cel:
9029158
Togo Has own
import. Buys
Documents
Mehmood Zindaba Burkina Faso
Ivory Cost
* Purchases
20ltr jerricane
of palm oil for
Ivory Cost
Market.
Ets VENAVIWO
(Mme. Epey Yawa)
Cel: 99489487
Togo
Ets Mawunyo
Biotasse
(Mme. Olivia Dede)
Cel: 99117286
Togo

Mme. Monkpokpoli
Cel: 90144525

Mme Gifty
Cel for accountant:
90118846/22201900


Major sellers
Sales volumes per month
3. Cost of clearing goods:
4


3
Personal interaction with clients in the market.
Lome visit 21st to23rd May 2014- A brief report



4. Business legalities
Type Cost of
establishm
ent (in
FCFA)
Time
needed
for
formati
on
Import
permissi
on
Export
Permissi
on
TVA on Sales TVA
on
Tran
sit
good
s
Remarks
Establish
ment
(Ets)
300,000 2 weeks Yes Yes 18% of
invoice value
to be paid
while
clearing the
goods. The
VAT for
differential
between
sales and
purchase
price to be
paid by the
company on
a monthly
sales basis.
0.18
% of
invoi
ce
value
Business
transaction
restricted
Society
(Ste)
750,000 3-4
weeks
Yes Yes As above As
abov
e
No restriction.
Initial capital of
1,000,000 FCFA
to be deposited
in the bank for
forming a
Society which
can be
withdrawn from
the bank after 4
months.

4
Based on information provided by Transdine, Transporter and clearing agent at Lome.
Product Packing
Qty in a 20
feet
container
Duty+Port
Charges
(FCFA)
Transport
(FCFA)
Direct Cost
per unit
(FCFA)
Sales Price
(FCFA)
Prefered Location
Vegetable oil 25Ltr 1074 2705968 80000 2594.011173 14700 Malaysia, Ghana
Sugar 50Kg 520 1139432 80000 2345.061538 16500 Brazil
Rice Long
Grain 50 Kg 520 1070200 80000 2211.923077 14500-15000 Thailand, India
Milk Powder 25 Kg 520 1610360 80000 3250.692308
65000 in
retail Ireland
Lome visit 21st to23rd May 2014- A brief report


5. Warehousing cost, best location for warehousing:
The best location for warehousing is near the sea port, on the Benin Lome highway. This road caters
to the transit markets and is an all weather road.
The cost has to be checked in the market. However, as per some sources the cost of warehouse with
storing capacity of 600-700 tonnes of rice will be around 250,000 to 300,000 FCFA per month.
6. House rent etc.
A decent house of 2 bed room can be rented for 250,000 FCFA. The preferred location should be
near Grand Marche, the major market of Lome.
7. Docs for Residence permit:
1. Letter of Entry: This is issued from ministry of security for a fees of 20,000 FCFA. To obtain
this, a copy of the passport and an invitation letter from a local company is required.
2. Company bank statement.
3. Card operator economy of the company.
4. Quittos fiscal of the company employed with.
5. Police clearance certificate from local police station in india.
6. Medical certificate.
7. Bank special attestation which certifies the company's transactions with the bank.
8. Some helpful local contact:
Mr. Anup: Runs a plastic wholesale shop in Grand Marche. Cel: 98043666
Mr. Dhawanjeet (Rainee): Has imports of alcohol. Can help in finding customers for BL sales.
Cel: 91001413
TRANSDINE, Mr. Comlan: Transporter and clearing agent. Cel: 90040270
Mr. Emmanuel E Mamlan: Lawyer, can assist in formation of company. Recommended by
Mr. Rajeev of Angelique International. Cel: 90874140
Mr. Rajeev Karanwal: Representative of Angelique International. Has good contacts in
ministry in Togo and Benin.
9. Conclusion:
Lome can be established as a headquarter with focus on exports of cashew, cotton cocoa etc. . Local
consumption cannot support the import volumes at present. However, Lome can be point of
discharge for customers to Burkina Faso, Niger and partially to Ivory Coast and Mali.
Lome visit 21st to23rd May 2014- A brief report

Due to heavy traffic at benin port, it is possible that some customers of Niger might shift from Benin
port to Lome port. But that assumption needs to be verified. At present, There is around 70,000 tons
of rice waiting for discharge at Lome Port.
ANCHORAGE
5


VESSELS CARGO
TRITON SWAN 27500T Rice
DIAMOND SKY 22600T Rice
SEA MOON 11000T Rice
GLOVIS MAGELLAN 9600T Rice

A due diligence activity needs to be carried out at Burkina Faso to understand the market and tap
the customers.
10. Limitations of the visit:
4 days too short to judge the market from all aspects.
Not much support from local contact.
Very secretive market due to the unofficial way of business.
Our Brands not known to the market. So, the customers are apprehensive about intentions.

5. Data availed from the port.