the challenges facing landlocked developing countries: a case study ...

MALI
Upon declaring independence in 1960, and thereby ending the
Federation of Mali (which had included Senegal), Mali lost its
coastline and direct access to the sea. Since then, an unstable
border and civil conflicts in neighboring countries have posed
significant barriers to trade and caused considerable damage
to the Malian economy. This damage has been particularly
acute given the importance of transit trade for the Malian
economy. Mali not only depends more heavily on export trade
than any other landlocked country of West Africa, but also
since it has no domestic manufacturing sector, it must import
nearly all of its consumer products and energy supply (i.e. oil).
While Mali has seven neighbors, only two of them offer
effective transit routes – Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire.
Unfortunately even these routes provide poor access to the
coast: The road network from Bamako to Abidjan (Côte
d’Ivoire) has been hampered by civil unrest, and the rail
system from Bamako to Dakar (Senegal), is marred by poor
infrastructure. There is also a third possible route through
Burkina Faso to Lomé (Togo), which plays a very minor role
due to the difficulty of transit through Burkina Faso (Evlo
1995). Trade through other neighbors is hindered by poor
infrastructure levels (Guinea), the physical barrier of the
Sahara (Algeria, Mauritania), or further landlockedness
(Burkina Faso, Niger). Coupled with this is the high
concentration of civil war in its neighbors: each of Mali’s
coastal neighbors has been involved in violent civil conflict in
the last decade, often rendering transit routes impassable.
BASIC INFORMATION
HDI Rank: 164
GDP per capita
2000 (PPP$): $797
Exports per capita
2000 (current USD): $53
Distance to port:
1,225km
Transport cost ratio
(1997): 0.35
Neighbors:
Algeria, Burkina Faso, Côte
d’Ivoire , Guinea, Mauritania,
Niger, Senegal
Primary transit neighbor(s):
Côte d’Ivoire , Senegal
Main trading partners:
Imports: Côte d’Ivoire (16%)
France (14%)
Exports: Thailand (20%)
Italy (7%)
Primary Exports (2000):
Gold (51%)
Cotton (28%)
Domestic Roads: poor
Transit Country Roads: fair
TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE
Domestic Rails:
Transit Country Rails:
poor
poor
Road
The primary transit road corridor for Malian trade is from
Bamako to Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire). As discussed in the
Burkina Faso study, this road is in relatively good condition
but suffers from cumbersome border processes and delays
Transit Country Ports: good
Neighboring Civil Conflict:
high
Relations w/ Neighbors: fair
resulting from obligatory customs escorts. In addition to this, Mali’s road transport efficiency
has suffered from a unique excess of vehicles, an indirect consequence of the emergency
food aid delivered during the drought in the early 1980s. The excess capacity places a
downward pressure on transport prices, often making the sector unprofitable, and leads to
frequent overloading. Low transport prices have also discouraged investment, resulting in an
ageing stock where over 95% of trailers and tankers are more than 11 years old.
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