Business
According to
COUNTRYAAH, Congo has huge assets of minerals, diamonds, forests and
water as well as good conditions for agriculture, but due to
political chaos, poor infrastructure and great dependence on
the world market price of a few dominant export products,
the country's economy is falling apart. From 1967-74, Congo
had an average GDP growth of about 7 percent, but from the
mid-1970s to the beginning of the 1990s, the economy
deteriorated dramatically. President Mobutu Sese Seko's
economic and political program in the early 1970s, when many
industrial and agricultural companies were expropriated, was
one of the main reasons for this. The 1980s meant some
financial stabilization, thanks in large part to large
foreign loans and international aid, but after 1991 the
recovery was transformed into a deep economic crisis.
Between 1985 and 2000, average inflation was approximately
400 percent per year (in 1994, an inflation peak of 24,000
percent was reached). During the opening year of the 2000s,
inflation was down 4–10 percent, but since 2005 it is again
around 20 percent. The periods of high inflation have led to
US dollars being the most viable currency in the country. In
recent years, average growth has been close to 6 percent.
As a result of the chaotic economic situation in the
country, the informal sector has grown and is estimated to
be three times the size of the official gross domestic
product.
Agriculture
Although Congo has good natural conditions for
agriculture, the cultivated area in the country is only 4
percent. Agricultural production is much hampered by the
country's major infrastructural shortcomings. Large parts of
the agricultural areas are not transported sufficiently to
the markets in the large population concentrations or to the
international market. Lack of transport opportunities, for
example, means that the people of Kinshasa cannot be reached
by agricultural products from areas outside the neighboring
provinces, which periodically presents major supply problems
for the capital.
The most important crops are cassava, corn, rice and
bananas, mainly grown in small-scale agriculture, while the
most important crop crop is coffee. In the country's central
and northern parts, cassava and rice are the most important
crops, while the southern highlands are dominated by maize,
banana and cotton crops. The coffee is grown mainly in the
eastern parts. Livestock management is mainly found in the
eastern and southern parts, but commercial meat production
is limited.
Natural Resources
Mining has been the cornerstone of the country's economy
since colonial times. The African copper belt from Zambia in
southern to southeastern Congo is estimated to be the
world's largest aggregate copper deposit. The country's
political situation, strikes and technical problems have
meant that the state mining company GÉCAMINES, which in the
1980s accounted for 90 percent of copper production, has
reduced its production. Similarly, Congo's cobalt production
has declined sharply; the country previously accounted for
about 65 percent of world production. Congo is also a major
producer of industrial diamonds. In addition to copper,
cobalt and diamonds, tin, zinc, gold, manganese, silver,
platinum, tungsten and uranium are also mined. Mining
production is concentrated in the eastern and southern parts
of the country. Copper, cobalt and zinc are mainly mined in
the provinces of Lualaba and Haut-Katanga in southeastern
Congo, while diamonds are found around the cities of
Mbuji-Mayi and Tshikapa in central Congo. A large part of
the other mining industry is concentrated in the eastern
parts of the country. When state control collapsed, the
breach occurred in a primitive and more or less illegal way,
with life-threatening working conditions as a result.
Corruption and smuggling are other problems in the industry.
Congo has great potential for energy production, mainly
through the Congo River's water resources and oil deposits
off the coast of the country. Most of the electricity needs
of industry and major cities are covered by water energy,
mainly from the Ingak power plant in the Congo River, while
the rural needs are met by motor-driven electricity
generators. The oil off the coastal strip is largely
exported as crude oil as the domestic refineries do not have
the capacity to process it.
Nearly 80 percent of the country's area is covered by
forests, and the country's forest assets make up nearly half
of all of Africa's. Despite this, a very small part is used
and mainly for fuel. The country's own processing industry
is very small, and most of the timber production is
exported.
Industry
In the 1960s and 1970s, Congo had a relatively
well-developed processing industry for beer, cement,
cigarettes, soap, sugar and textiles. As a result of the
country's economic and political crisis, the industrial
sector was halved in the 1980s. The decline continued during
the 1990s, when certain industries, such as the cement
industry, experienced a significant decline. Lack of foreign
capital for spare parts purchases, decline in the domestic
market and serious disruptions in electricity supply to the
factories are some of the reasons for the decline.
The most significant industrial plants were the smelters
in Lubumbashi, Kolwezi and Likas, as well as the chemical
industry that has grown in connection with these. Thanks to
major reconstruction projects, the construction industry is
the fastest growing industry branch. The textile and food
industries, which mainly produce for the domestic market,
are located mainly in the metropolitan area.
Foreign trade
Congo has long had a surplus in the trade balance, but
imports have increased as the country stabilized, and the
trade balance now shows a rather sharp deficit. However, as
a result of a very extensive smuggling of minerals and
agricultural products, trade statistics are very uncertain.
Exports are highly commodity-dominated. The mining industry
accounts for about 90 percent of the export value;
industrial diamond production alone accounts for about 50
percent. Gold, copper and cobalt are also important export
goods. Of agricultural products, coffee is the only
commodity that has any major significance for exports.
The country's imports consist mainly of mechanical
equipment, transport equipment, food and fuel.
The main exporting countries are China, Zambia and South
Korea, while imports are mainly from China, South Africa and
Zambia.
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