Although the level of imports remained relatively stable beginning in the mid-1980s, droughts and the subsequent need to import rice influenced import totals. Principal imports include manufactured goods, including transport equipment food items, including rice and fuel. According to 1986 UN statistics, manufactured goods accounted for 53.5 percent of imports--of which 14.1 percent was transport equipment food items for 20.8 percent-- of which 16.2 percent was cereals, including rice, and 18.9 percent for petroleum. Limited information shows that the composition of imports did not change significantly through 1989. A substantial portion of imports is linked to aid programs, although a government source indicated that these imports accounted for a slowly decreasing share of total imports, from about 40 percent in 1982 to about 28 percent in 1987.

Data as of July 1994