A Report on Lome Visit

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.


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

Rice

RICE IMPORT (SEMI OR WHOLLY MILLED) QTY IN TONNES

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

PALM OIL

Palm oil and its fractions refined but not chemically modified

Exporters2011-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 0 627.2Côte 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

Sugar

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 Générale de la Statistique et de la Comptabilité Nationale (DGSCN) statistics.


Sugars and sugar confectionery

Exporters2011-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 buyers3

Customer's Name Qty purchased (monthly) Markets catered

RemarksRice Palm

OilMilk 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 FasoIvory 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. MonkpokpoliCel: 90144525Mme Gifty Cel for accountant: 90118846/22201900

Major sellers Sales volumes per month

3. Cost of clearing goods:4

Product Packing Qty in a 20 Duty+Port Transpor Direct Cost Sales Price Prefered Location

3 Personal interaction with clients in the market.4 Based on information provided by Transdine, Transporter and clearing agent at Lome.


feet container

Charges (FCFA) t (FCFA) per unit

(FCFA) (FCFA)

Vegetable oil 25Ltr 1074 2705968 80000 2594.011173 14700 Malaysia, GhanaSugar 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 3250.69230865000 in

retail Ireland

4. Business legalities

Type Cost of establishment (in FCFA)

Time needed for formation

Import permission

Export Permission

TVA on Sales TVA on Transit goods

Remarks

Establishment (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 invoice value

Business transaction restricted

Society (Ste)

750,000 3-4 weeks

Yes Yes As above As above

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.

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.

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 CARGOTRITON SWAN 27500T RiceDIAMOND SKY 22600T Rice

SEA MOON 11000T RiceGLOVIS 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.

55. Data availed from the port.

A Report on Lome Visit

Documents

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