Domestic vs Foreign Products

Domestic vs. Foreign Products

Imports of products and services represent the value of all goods and other market services received from the rest of the world. They include the value of merchandise, freight, insurance, transport, travel, royalties, license fees, and other services, such as communication, construction, financial, information, business, personal, and government services.

Every country, including Cote d’Ivoire can be self-sufficient without importing at least foreign products and services for many reasons. For example, products and services that are either essential to economic well-being or attractive to consumers but not available in the domestic market or products and services that satisfy domestic needs. The country is partnering with foreign countries to buy the products or services necessary to satisfy the basic needs of its people. The research will be based on two essentials products such as crude oil and cars. The country does not produce cars at all and does not produce crude oil in sufficient quantities to serve domestic needs.

Oil importation

The fact is that, the country cannot meet its oil consumption needs exclusively through domestically produced oil, and most of these imports come from Nigeria. Indeed, the country could abandon foreign oil imports, but it would be an expensive decision because the domestic reserves of oil could not satisfy current domestic demand. Another factor that influenced this importation is the use of the petroleum products such as fuels and gasoline for the cars and trucks. The country imports crude oil through its refinery company named La SIR, which transforms it in petroleum products such as fuels, gasoline, butane and heavy vacuum oil.

However in this sector, the structure La SIR has the exclusive control of the supplying of the finished products (gasoline, fuels), hence the absence of competition on the Ivorian market. Also, since 2002, the development of sales in this market experienced a sharp...