Mali
As a least-developed country (LDC), Mali is a beneficiary of the EU's "Everything but Arms" (EBA) arrangement. The World Bank classifies Mali as a low-income economy with a per-capita income of $1,086 in 2024. Total EU imports from Mali amounted to about €40 million in 2024, a third less than in the year before. As most of Mali's exports enter the EU duty-free under the EU's normal tariff regime, the scope for preferential imports is limited - these amounted to €7.4 million in 2024.
What is the EBA?
The EBA arrangement covers all LDCs as classified by the United Nations. This arrangement enables duty-free and quota-free access for all products originating in LDCs except for arms and ammunition. Unlike beneficiaries of the Standard GSP and GSP+, LDCs are not excluded from the scheme if they benefit from other preferential arrangements or agreements with the EU.
At a glance: EU preferential imports from EBA beneficiary countries (2024, € million)
24.5M (2024)
Population
Semi-Presidential Republic
Government
5.0% (2024)
GDP Growth
3.2% (2024)
Inflation
$ 26.6B (2024)
GDP
Facts about Mali's economy
Landlocked Economy
Located in Western Africa, Mali is a landlocked economy. The majority of the country lies in the southern Sahara which comes with a hot desert climate.
Export Products
Mali's most important export product is gold, accounting for about 60% of the country' export proceeds in 2024. Other export products include petroleum oils, raw cotton, sesame seeds, and fertilisers.
Trade Partners
Mali's most important trading partners are neighbouring Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire (which are also th emost important suppliers), followed by China and South Africa. South Africa is by far the most important export market (44% in 2024).
Economic Structure
About 80% of Mali's population are employed in the agricultural sector, which predominantly focusses on subsistence farming and represents 33% of Mali's GDP (2024). Cotton is the most important cash crop. Mali has substantial mineral deposits, whose extraction, apart from gold and salt, remains largely underdeveloped. The manufacturing sector mainly produces for the domestic market and focusses on the processing of agricultural products, consumer goods and construction materials.
Gold and Cotton
Mali is the third largest producer of gold and the second largest producer of cotton on the African continent. Cotton contributes about 8% to the country’s GDP.
Trade with the EU
Total trade with the EU amounted to €856 million in 2024. The EU is Mali's fifth most important trading partner and accounts for a share of 7%, which, however, mainly results from the importance of EU imports. Less than 2% of Mali's exports go to the EU market.
Mali and the EU
Imports from Mali by product section (2024, € million)
Imports from Mali over time (€ million)
MALI AND THE EU GSP
Economic Impact
28%
Share of Mali's exports to the EU that were eligible for preferences granted under the EBA in 2024.
79%
Mali's preference utilisation rate in 2024.
92%
Share of zero-duty imports from Mali in 2024. Most imports are duty-free under normal EU tariffs.
Preference utilisation and export diversification
EU imports from Mali (€ million)
Preference utilisation (%) vs. total eligible imports (in € million)
With a large share of EU imports from Mali attracting no duties under the normal tariff regime, the share of EBA-eligible imports is small. Nevertheless, the value of eligible imports shows a clearly positive trend, with the years since 2022 being particularly good years. Mali’s preference utilisation rate has fluctuated heavily over the years, ranging from 27% (in 2018) to 86% (in 2021). In 2024 it was 79%, an increase compared to the 59% a year earlier. Food preparations and fruit and vegetables were the two large product sections making the highest use of EBA preferences in 2024.
The largest product sections under EBA (€ million, 2024)
EU imports from Mali making use of the preferences granted by the EBA are led by prepared foods and beverages, followed by fruit and vegetables, preferential imports of which increased by 261% from 2022 to 2024. Preference utilisation in these two sectors is also relatively high, unlike in many of the smaller sectors.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
As a beneficiary of the EBA, Mali is not required to ratify any conventions to be able to benefit from preferential access to the EU market. Nonetheless, the country has ratified all 27 international conventions listed in the GSP Regulation on human and labour rights, environmental protection and good governance.
Core international conventions on human rights and labour standards
Ratified
- Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948)
- International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1969)
- International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1976)
- International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (1976)
- Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1981)
- Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1987)
- Convention on the Rights of the Child (1990)
- Convention concerning Forced or Compulsory Labour, No 29 (1930)
- Convention concerning Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise, No 87 (1948)
- Convention concerning the Application of the Principles of the Right to Organise and to Bargain Collectively, No 98 (1949)
- Convention concerning Equal Remuneration of Men and Women Workers for Work of Equal Value, No 100 (1951)
- Convention concerning the Abolition of Forced Labour, No 105 (1957)
- Convention concerning Discrimination in Respect of Employment and Occupation, No 111 (1958)
- Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment, No 138 (1973)
- Convention concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour, No 182 (1999)
Additional Conventions
- Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (1973)
- Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (1987)
- Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal (1989)
- Convention on Biological Diversity (1992)
- The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992)
- Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (2000)
- Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (2001)
- Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1998)
- United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (1961)
- United Nations Convention on Psychotropic Substances (1971)
- United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (1988)
- United Nations Convention against Corruption (2004)
EU-Mali Bilateral Development Cooperation
DG INTPA
Access all info about EU-Mali relations on the International Partnerships website.