By Festus Poquie
Liberia’s merchandise exports rose 17.2% in 2024 to US$1.30 billion, driven overwhelmingly by a surge in gold shipments and continuing contributions from the mining sector including diamonds even as iron ore exports fell sharply, a World Bank report released Oct. 29 shows.
Gold remained the dominant export, climbing from US$681.5 million in 2023 to US$895.6 million in 2024, underpinning much of the overall gain. Rubber also staged a strong rebound, rising 33.6% to US$139.8 million, while cocoa exports more than doubled to US$8.9 million from US$4.5 million a year earlier. By contrast, iron ore exports contracted by 21.5%, slipping from US$243.0 million to US$190.9 million.
Together, gold, iron ore and rubber accounted for roughly 94.0% of Liberia’s export earnings in 2024, a concentration the World Bank flagged as a persistent vulnerability. The report notes the mining sector — led by gold and supported by other mineral exports such as diamonds — remains central to foreign-exchange earnings, leaving the economy exposed to commodity-price swings and sector-specific shocks.
On the import side, Liberia saw a sharp pullback in 2024, with merchandise imports down nearly 20% to US$1.67 billion from US$2.08 billion the prior year.
The drop was led by capital and intermediate goods: machinery imports fell from US$452.5 million to US$373.3 million, a development the World Bank links to either weaker investment activity or tighter foreign-exchange availability.
Fuel imports also dropped by more than US$100 million to US$388.8 million, reflecting lower global oil prices and possibly reduced domestic consumption, while food imports remained steady at about US$424 million.
The combined picture, stronger export receipts driven by a narrow set of commodities and weakening import demand helped narrow the trade deficit but underscored structural risks.
The World Bank cautioned that reliance on a small number of primary exports raises Liberia’s exposure to external shocks and recommended policies to broaden the export base and strengthen resilience to commodity volatility.
