Free Trade Zones_ Cote d'Ivoire

Cote d'Ivoire operates a transit zone facility in Abidjan for goods being shipped to Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. Bonded warehouse facilities are available in Abidjan. To utilize a bonded warehouse, the exporter must engage a local importer. The exporter ships to the bonded warehouse which then accepts payment from the importer for the product as the importer withdraws it from the warehouse. The bonded warehouse system allows the importer to avoid the cost of opening a letter of credit and of paying high local interest rates. However, the exporter must take into account in his pricing the cost of financing the goods while they are in the bonded warehouse. The importer and exporter should agree on a time limit by which the importer must take receipt of the full shipment. The Ivorian government plans to establish a free trade zone in the near future

Bonded warehouses exist, and bonded zones within factories are allowed. High port costs and maritime freight rates have inhibited the development of in-bond manufacturing or processing, and there are consequently no foreign trade zones. Bonded warehouses serve mostly for transshipment of goods to Mali and Burkina Faso