Nickel et cobalt, first export products
Madagascar exported 39,300 tonnes of nickel and cobalt in 2023, figure slightly increased compared to the previous year. These minerals became the main export products of the Big Island, value. The latter, however, decreased between 2022 and 2023, going from 4,606 to 4,150 billion ariarys (approximately 938 to 845 million euros), due to the drop in world prices, significant for cobalt.
The tourist year is off to a good start
Madagascar welcomed 22,333 international tourists during the first two months of 2024, figure increasing compared to 2023 (19,349 arrivals), but still slightly down compared to January and February 2019 (25,068 arrivals), reference year before the health crisis. The government has set a target of 400,000 tourist arrivals in 2024, which seems ambitious given the current inadequacies of air service, both international and domestic. By 2028, Malagasy leaders are targeting a million tourists. To achieve this goal, 11,500 additional hotel rooms would need to be created.
Air France strengthens its frequencies
Air France will increase its flight frequencies between Paris (Charles de Gaulle airport) and Antananarivo from April 8. Until June 2, it will offer five flights per week. In June and September, the company will operate six flights per week, operated by Boeing 777. During the peak French summer holiday season, from July 1 to August 31, Air France will fly seven times a week to the Big Island with Airbus A350-900s.
Cooperation agreement with Turkey
Madagascar and Turkey signed a commercial cooperation agreement, early March, on the sidelines of a diplomatic forum held in the Turkish city of Antalya. The text provides in particular for the establishment of a joint economic commission aimed at consolidating trade between the two countries and the participation of Turkish operators in the construction of the new city that the Malagasy state wants to build in Imerintsiatosika., 20 kilometers east of Antananarivo, to unclog the latter. Since the installation of a Turkish embassy in Madagascar, Turkey is taking a growing place in the supply of the Big Island, especially for construction materials. The creation of a Madagascar embassy in Ankara and an office of the Turkish Cooperation and Development Agency in Antananarivo are the next steps in this rapprochement.
ICTs not easily accessible on the Big Island
Madagascar ranks 165th, out of 169 countries studied, in the field of information and communication technologies, according to the index established by the International Telecommunications Union for 2023 based on 2021 data. The UN agency measures both the number of people connected to telecommunications services and the quality of connectivity (individuals using the Internet, mobile phone penetration, mobile Internet traffic by subscription, the price of mobile data and voice services, mobile phone ownership rate…). In 2021, 13,1% of Malagasy households had home Internet access, 67,1% of the population was covered by the 3G mobile network and 27,1% via the 4G network. According to another source, early January 2024, the Internet penetration rate in Madagascar had exceeded 20% of the population.
