Côte d'Ivoire and Liberia
What moves each way, the scams to watch for, and what to check before you trade.
Trade safely with Liberia
The scams, documents and rules that matter on this corridor. Written and reviewed by our team, and dated.
Corridor-specific scam patterns and rules are still being reviewed by our team and will appear here once published.
- Confirm the company exists in an official register and that its name matches the one on the invoice.
- Before paying into a new or changed bank account, phone the company on a number you already hold, not one from the invoice or email.
- Test the container number, ship number, ports and dates on the bill of lading with the Document checker.
- Be wary of paying in advance for goods you have not seen, or of fees demanded to release a shipment.
- Ask the carrier directly to confirm the shipment exists and where it is.
In 2025, Côte d'Ivoire sold Liberia about $75.6 million of goods. The biggest products were electrical energy, petroleum oils and oils from bituminous… and cosmetic and toilet preparations, which together make up 63% of the total. The total has grown by about 17% a year since 2022. Among the leading products, bulldozers, graders, levellers, scrapers is growing fastest, at about 134% a year.
In 2025, Côte d'Ivoire bought about $21.3 million of goods from Liberia. The biggest products were palm oil and its fractions, moving, grading, levelling, scraping and articles of plastics and articles of other…, which together make up 98% of the total. More than half of this trade is one product (palm oil and its fractions), so it leans heavily on that one line. The total has fallen by about 8.0% a year since 2022. Among the leading products, textiles, worn clothing and other worn articles is growing fastest, at about 172% a year.
Trade by year
Total trade each year, as reported in the tables below. A missing bar means no report for that year, not zero trade.
View as a table
| Year | Côte d'Ivoire sells to Liberia | Côte d'Ivoire buys from Liberia |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | $46.8m | $27.4m |
| 2023 | $57.1m | $23.7m |
| 2024 | $56.7m | $5.9m |
| 2025 | $75.6m | $21.3m |
What Côte d'Ivoire sells to Liberia
Ranked by value in 2025, by 4-digit product code. Growth is the yearly rate since 2022.
| Product | Value | Share | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical energy Product code 2716 · Fuels and oils | $35.0m Liberia reports none | 46.3% | +123.9% a year |
| Petroleum oils and oils from bituminous minerals, not crude (preparations not listed elsewhere, containing by… Product code 2710 · Fuels and oils | $7.1m Liberia reports $539.3m | 9.4% | +117.0% a year |
| Cosmetic and toilet preparations (beauty, make-up and skin care preparations (excluding medicaments, including… Product code 3304 · Cosmetics and perfumery | $5.9m Liberia reports $101k | 7.8% | +11.5% a year |
Biggest product groups: Fuels and oils (56%), Cosmetics and perfumery (13%), Machinery (6%), Plastics (4%), Vehicles (4%) .
What Côte d'Ivoire buys from Liberia
Ranked by value in 2025, by 4-digit product code. Growth is the yearly rate since 2022.
| Product | Value | Share | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palm oil and its fractions (whether or not refined, but not chemically modified) Product code 1511 · Fats and oils | $20.5m Liberia reports none | 96.1% | -7.6% a year |
| Moving, grading, levelling, scraping, excavating, tamping, compacting, extracting or boring machinery, for ear… Product code 8430 · Machinery | $216k | 1.0% | +78.7% a year |
| Articles of plastics and articles of other materials of heading no. 3901 to 3914, not listed elsewhere in chap… Product code 3926 · Plastics | $147k | 0.7% | +92.0% a year |
Biggest product groups: Fats and oils (96%), Machinery (1%), Plastics (1%), Oil seeds and grains (1%), Books and printed matter (0%) .
Where the opportunities are
Products that are moving on this corridor. Only products of a meaningful size are listed. Treat these as leads to check, not promises: a fast rise can reverse.
Room to grow
Products that a market buys a lot of, where this corridor supplies only a small part. Shares are for the latest year both sides reported. A small share can also mean a hard market, so check the rules and the buyer first.
A free account shows the complete product lists, every fast-growing and new product, and the markets where this corridor supplies little. Accounts are checked by hand, so use your business email.
Create a free account Sign inHow to read these figures
Value is what was traded in the year, in US dollars. A big number means a big market, not necessarily an easy one to enter.
Share is that product's part of the total in the table above. A product with a large share is what this corridor already trades most of.
Growth is the average yearly change since the first year shown. A green figure means trade in that product is rising.
Product code is the international customs code (HS) for the product group. Your customs agent and the guide below will ask for it, and it decides the duty you pay.
These are totals reported by customs authorities, not prices or orders. Use them to see where demand exists, then check the rules and the company you plan to deal with.
Next steps
Trade figures are what each country reported to the UN (Comtrade), in US dollars. Imports are usually reported including freight and insurance, exports without, so the two sides of a corridor will not match exactly. Company counts are companies listed on ExporterIQ.