ECONOMIC - INDUSTRIAL, AGRICULTURE, MINING, FISHING

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000700210216-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: R
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 10, 2002
• Sequence Number: 216
• Publication Date: March 24, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 2002/08/06 : CIA-RDP80-00809A000700210216-4
CLASSIFICATION RESTRICTED
CENTRAL $NTELLIGEP1t;E0A(CY REPORT NO
INFORMATION FROM
25X1A
COUNTRY French Equatorial Africa DATE OF
INFORMATION 1952
SUBJECT Economic - Industrial, agriculture,
mining, fishing
HOW
PUBLISHED Daily newspaper
WHERE
PUBLISHED Leopoldville
DATE
PUBLISHED 17, 18 Nov 1952
LANGUAGE French
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DATE DIST,*Mar 1953
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
[The following information was taken from articles in the 17
and 18 November issues of Le Courrier d'Afrigue. a Leopoldville
daily newspaper. The industrial expansion taking place in French
Equatorial Africa is discusced.7
The industrialization of French Equatorial Africa is gaining momentum as
a result of the application of the Ten-Year Plan. During the period 1939-
1945, the only important industry was forestry. Since that time, industrial
activity has expanded considerably and will increase still more with the in-
auguration, in 1953, of two new hydroelectric plants, one on the Djoue River,
near Brazzaville, and the other at Bouali, near Bangui.
A brief survey of industrial progress in French Equatorial Africa is
given below.
Although French Equatorial Africa has more thar.. 100 million hectares of
forests, the most important growths are in Gabon. The latter has 22 lumber
mills, of which the Compagnie Francaise du Gabon (French Company of Gabon),
located at Port Gentil, is one of the best equipped. The total annual pro-
ductive capacity of the Gabon mills is 35,000 cubic meters of sawn timber,
50,000 meters of veneers, and 4n,000 cubic meters of plywood.
The Middle Congo producea 55,000 cubic meters annually, consisting princi-
pally of sawn lumber. Several thousand cubic meters of veneers and plywoods
are also produced at Pointe Noire. Ubangi-Shari has 12 sawmills with a total
annual productive capacity of 35,000 cubic- Mehra [Ir in timt,c?r, enough to
meet the needs of Chad and 'Ubangi-Shari.
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At present, lumber consumption in French Equatorial Africa is not great,
being limited chiefly to the construction of houses and the manufacture of
furniture. However, plans are now under way for the establishment of plants
for the production of wood pulp, cellulose, wallboard, and wood alcohol.
Oleaginous Products
The oil palm, principal oleaginous plant in the region, furnishes about
15,000 tons of oil per year for native consumption.. In addition, exports
total annually 2,500 tons valued at 130 million CFA francs. Processing is
done both by small rudimentary installation and by large modern enterprises
located for the most part in the Middle Congo and Ubangi-Shari. The CFHBC
(Ccnnpagnie Francaise du Haut et du Bas Congo, French Company of the Upper and
Lower Congo) leads in production, with 3,200 tons of palm oil per year. It
has 17 steam-operated plants equipped with screw presses and 43. pressing sta-
tions. These plants are located in the Middle Congo, the principal one being
at Etoumbi.
.In Ubangi-Shari the main oil-processing plants are located at Bouchia,
Boussimba, Bagandou, and Zomia. ETINAF (Etablissements Industriels Africains,
African Industrial Enterprises) recently acquired modern equipment that will
produce 500 tons annually, and another new plant at N'Zaio will have an annual
capacity of 400 tons of oil. IRHO (Institut de Recherches pour lea Huiles et
0leagineaux, Research Institute for Oils and Oleaginous Products) has a plant
now under construction at Sibiti, which will produce 600 tons per year.
Some oleaginous plants found in French Equatorial Africa are not yet uti-
lized by the vegetable oil industry. Peanuts are consumed, for the most part,
without processing. However, SIAN (Societe Industrielle et Agricole du Niari,
Agricultural and Industrial Company of Niari) has an installation at Loudima,
iu: the Middle Congo, that can process 700 tons of peanuts per year.. Additional
processing plants will soon begin operating in Ubangi-Shari, mainly at Bambara,
where one plant already processes more than 100 tons per year.
In addition to peanuts, these plants will also process cottonseed, which
has not, so far, b,~,?n utilized. COTONFRAN (Compagnie Cotonniere Equatoriale
Francaise, French Equatorial Cotton Company) is studying the Installation of
a plant at Moundou, in Chad, which will be able to produce 600 tors of oil in
1954. At present, a plant at Bangui produces 610 tons of sesame oil annually
for local consumption.
Mining
Mining in French Equatorial Africa, has been limited, so far, to diamonds
and gold. The zonstantly increasing production of diamonds, whi.-h exceeded
150,000 carats in 1952, promises to reach 400,000 carats by 1956. Gold pro-
duction, which amounted to 1,643 kilograms in 1951, is uncreasing be-cause at
the present low prices, only the high-grade ore deposits an be profitably
exploited.
Other minerals extracted include small quantities of natron near Lake Chad
and bitumen in Gabon. In addition, zinc and lead are being extracted in the
Niari River Valley by the Societe Miniere du Congo (Congo Mining Company). in
1951, production of lead ore amounted to 4,000 tons, while zinc ore prcduction
totaled 6,000 tons. Because of insufficient electric power in the area, this
ore is not processed.
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The mining industry in French Equatorial Africa is now studying the ex-
ploitation of new mineral deposits, such as manganese at France-ville, where
about 50 million CPA francs have been invested in the development; copper in
the Middle Congo; tin in Chad; phosphate fertilizers at Mayombe; and petroleum.
in Gabon.
F ishini
LIPA (L'Industrie de Peche en Afrique, Afrique, African Fish Industry)
and SAPAC (Societe Anonyme de Peche, d'Armement et de Conservation, Fishing
and Fishing Supplies Company), two fishing companies located. at Pointe Noire,
together operate five trawlers. They have cold-storage warehouses where the
fish are stored until sold locally or shipped by refrigerated cars to Dolisie
and Brazzaville, or by air to other markets-
If a company were set up to engage in the drying, salting, or smoking of
fish, it would be assured of a very large market to French Equatorial Africa,
as yeti as in the French Cameroons and the Belgian Congo. The requirements
of French Equatorial Africa are indicated by the 1951 imports of dried, salted,
or smoked fish, which exceeded 4,500 tons.
SOPECOBA (Societe des Pecheries Color ales a La Baleine, Colonial Whale
Fisheries Company) has a modern whaling vessel, the Anglonorse, plus an es-
tablishment at Port Gentil. In _?951, this company produced 1,100 tons of
whale oil and. 1,600 tons of whale meal. Another company, SOPECOREC Lnot
further identified7, was established in 1951 at Port Gentil. It produced
38 tons of shark liver oil during 1951 for export to the 13S. The two traw-
lers operated. by this company also bring in other types of fish, which are
sold in Gabon or shipped to the French Cameroons and Nigeria,
The development of stock farming in Chad is reflected in the figures for
1951: 3 million cattle, 2 million sheep, and 1.5 million goats. Given the
scarcity of meat in the adjacent areas, this growth in Chad stock raising may
lead to the development of meat-products industries.
The laughter house- operated by TREC Lnot further identified_/ and SICA
Tct further identified' in Abeche, have become important meat export centers.
From October 1951 to January 1952, TREC shipped 296 tons of meat to Douala,
Brazzaville, Yaounde, Spanish Guinea, Libreville, and Fointe Noire, while
SICA shipped 230 tone of meat during th- same period .e Brazzaville. Leopold-
ville, Pointe Noire, and Bangui. A meat -canning plant and a soap fe tory will
soon be constructed at Abeche. At present, animal. hides are merely given an
arsenic treatment before export, while !'y-protuctr -uch as horns are discarded.
An industry utilizing these by-products could be established, s~eces_fully in
Chad.
There are three tanneries in French ^quatorial Africa, with an annual
productive carartty of 500 tons, which could probably be increased to 400 tons
of cow hides and 200 tons of lighter skins. A :hoc factory located at. Brazza-
ville can produce about 5,000 pairs of civil tar. and 3,01'10 _,air. of
military shoes per month.
The cotton industry 'in French Equatorial Africa i; represented by `our
large- ccwipanies. COTOt&RAN. COTON.4F (Societe rranrai-:e no i;otor_ Atricains,
French Company for African Cotton), COMOUNA 'Compagnie Cozmerriale .a Cot-
onniere do 1,Ouhamenann. Commercial Cotton Company cf Ouhamonanai, and
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COTOUBANGUI (Compagnie Cotonniere du Haut Oubangui, "Upper Ubantnii Cotton
Company). The four companies have a total of 43 steam-operated plants for
ginning and baling cotton.
After implementation of their modernization plans, the four companies will
be able to handle the entire cotton output of Chad and Ubangi-Shari, amounting
to about 100,000 tons per year.
At Brazzaville, a spinning and weaving mill with 6,4oo spindles and 110
looms has been set up by the Winter-Savana Company and SOCOFRA (Societe
Commerciale Francaise, French Commercial Company). At present, the mill is
being operated by the Societe Tefraco (Tefraco Company), with 2,000 spindles
and 60 looms in use. Its current monthly production of 50,000 linear meters
n-' rlain drill cloth will be increased to 100,000 meters by the end of 1952.
Later, with the introduction of three working shifts, monthly production will
be increased to 300,000 meters.
At Bouali, in Ubangi-Shari, a large textile mill is now be constructed.
The ICOT (Societe d'Irdustrie Cotonniere de l'Oubangui et du Tchad, Industrial
Cotton Company of Ubangi-Shari and Chad) has planned. the establishment of a
spinning mill that will be operating by the end of 1953
Producti.on goals, based on the operation of 400 looms and 12,000 spindles,
are as follows, in 1954, 300,000 linear meters of cloth, using 180 tons of
raw cotton; and in 1962, 5,600,000 linear meters of cloth, using 1,000 tons
of raw cotton. Pending completion of the hydroelectric power plant at Bouali,
the mill will generate electric power with a thermal power plant.
The manufacture of cotton good= in French Equatorial Africa offers great
possibilities, since their imports in 1951 amounted to 1,300,000,000 CFA
francs. This sum represents 2,000 tons of cot.ton yard goods and 672 tons of
cotton blankets.
Sisal., which is cultivated chiefly in u'tangi-"hard, is processed by the
Gilliaux Group, whtrh operates tzig:t shredding A spinning mill is now
being set up at Krc'djia.. Commercial production in 1951 exceeded 2,000 tons,
of which 65 percent was exported and the rest was made into string, rope, and
cloth for the local market. Two mills which are now being inat.alled in the
producing areas will have a total potential capacity of 1,500 ton- per year.
Urena lobata and punga are cultivated in the Middle Congo. SOFICO
(Societe des Fibres Coloniales, Colonial Fiber Company) operates a rettiug
plant near Onli_ie, with a production capar.cty of 1,200 ?.ons per year,.
SOFICO also plans the construction of a sack factory to meet local market
requirements, which amount tc about 500 toot annua;_y.
Soaps and Tallows
In 1949, there were 13 soap factories in the country, furn-=hing aboutt
6,000 tons of low-quality soap for :Dial consumption. Corsid