Ivory Coast

Ivory Coast has become the industrial centre of francophone West Africa, and EMM supplies it through Abidjan, with San Pedro handling the west and much of the cocoa and timber traffic. Abidjan is the busiest port in the region after Lagos and it functions as the gateway for Burkina Faso and Mali as well, so part of what we ship for Ivorian customers is bound for the interior. Everything here runs in French, and we supply manuals, panel markings and safety labelling accordingly - it is not optional on a machine someone has to operate.

Processing what the country grows

Cocoa is the biggest story. Ivory Coast grows more than anywhere else, and policy has driven a determined move from bean export into grinding, which is capital-intensive: cleaning, roasting, winnowing, grinding, pressing, deodorising and packaging plant, plus the utilities around it. Cashew is the second, and Ivory Coast is now a leading grower with a similar push into local shelling - steaming, shelling, peeling, grading and vacuum packing lines. Rubber processing, palm oil milling and refining, coffee hulling, cotton ginning in the north and rice milling all have substantial installed demand. The Yopougon and Vridi industrial zones buy packaging, plastics, beverage, cosmetics and building materials plant. Construction in Abidjan has been strong for a decade and keeps batching plants, block machines and concrete equipment moving.

Conformity and language

Ivory Coast operates a mandatory import verification of conformity programme, so assessment happens in China before loading and the certificate travels with the documents. We book it as part of the order. Standard supply is 380 V three phase and 220 V single phase, 50 Hz, with French-pattern outlets. The climate is humid tropical on the coast, drier in the north.

Ask us for the quotation in French if that suits your team better - we would rather the specification be read properly than read quickly.