Madagascar's main sources of revenue are the fishing and agriculture. Madagascar's number one export is vanilla and one of their major purchasers is Coca Cola.
Reforms began in 1988 with strong pressure by World Bank. Following this, a privatization program was formed and the creation of an export processing zone came short after. As a result from 1991 to 1996, the economy had minimal growth and the percentage of the population in poverty was incredibly high. During the late 1990's, foreign investors became increasingly interested in Madagascar (particularly in forresting). Although the economy was on the up rise, it was still riddled with corruption due to another period of privatization. This corruption proved to be a bigger problem than previously anticipated when the presidential elections in 2001 were thought to be fixed and a crisis followed, lasting over half a year. This was terribly hard on Madagascar's already struggling economy. It's GDP dropped about 13% and many foreign investors pulled out of the country after this scandal. The economy rebounded in 2003, increasing by 10%. However, due to the currency depreciation and other factors, inflation reached 25% in 2004. A central bank rate was put into place in 2005 and was very successful in both increasing growth and brought inflation levels to an acceptable rate.
Madagascar's growth is mainly in tourism and light manufacturing, a
griculture and mining. Madagascar's unique and spectacular climate draws many people to the country every year. Madagascar produces over 50% of the worlds vanilla population and this is a major resource to the country. A large mine in Fort Dauphin opened in 2008 which mines a substance called ilmanite. Mining companies sometimes have difficulty because of strict rules in place to protect the species that surround them. Madagascar is also developing itself in the oil industry and is creating a massive oil field in Tsimiroro.
griculture and mining. Madagascar's unique and spectacular climate draws many people to the country every year. Madagascar produces over 50% of the worlds vanilla population and this is a major resource to the country. A large mine in Fort Dauphin opened in 2008 which mines a substance called ilmanite. Mining companies sometimes have difficulty because of strict rules in place to protect the species that surround them. Madagascar is also developing itself in the oil industry and is creating a massive oil field in Tsimiroro.I feel that there is constant struggle between people trying to protect the environment and businesses. The land is very fragile and the endangered species must be protected. This makes it difficult for the people who live in Madagascar and want to get out of poverty. The restrictions on their ability to develop the land and the lack of essential goods to many of the people make it difficult for the economy to grow. This linked with the corrupted government creates difficult living conditions for natives.
