Congo: Forestry Sector Suffocating Under Major Logistical Constraints
Between January and March 2026, the official count of active entities in the primary sector revealed a contraction of 29.3%. The portfolio of operators in the sector dropped from 41 to 29 over one year. Forestry operators are bearing the brunt of this decline, representing 66.7% of the workforce recorded by the tax administration.
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Under the weight of persistent infrastructure blockages, 90.7% of surveyed executives report major operational constraints.
Disruptions related to goods transportation and land transport constitute the number one obstacle for 63.8% of companies, ahead of water supply failures credited at 51.4%, competitive pressure showing 27.1%, and the heaviness of administrative procedures recorded at 20.4%.
Meanwhile, the implementation of budgetary support mechanisms shows a marked delay in the first three months of the fiscal year. Thus, the line of 4.1 billion FCFA allocated to promoting self-employment and youth insertion through micro-projects in the primary sector presents a zero realization rate at the end of the first quarter, maintaining global workforce variation at near-stagnation of 1.0% year-on-year.
Despite this, the overall macroeconomic trajectory aims for a 5.2% expansion over the full year, driven by the rebound in hydrocarbons and the rise of protected agricultural zones.
The reduction in external purchases brought down to 643.6 billion FCFA, down 7.2%, strengthens the trade balance, whose positive surplus reaches 556.5 billion FCFA as of March 31, 2026.
Asaba
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