Report by the WTO Secretariat

Guinea’s economy is based on the mining sector (26 per cent of GDP, including processing bauxite into alumina) and agriculture (20 per cent), the former providing 95 per cent of export earnings, and the latter the remainder. Exports’ share of GDP rose from 34 per cent in 2005 to 41 per cent in 2009, highlighting the strong global demand for bauxite, diamonds and gold, and the weakness of the other sectors in Guinea’s economy. In 2011, substantial foreign direct investment (FDI) in the production of alumina and iron ore was planned, together with two port extensions. This investment is for an amount comparable to the country’s annual GDP. It is therefore vital to introduce appropriate macroeconomic policies, including trade policies, so as to prevent the strong inflationary trends which such investment might cause.