Logistics services in Burkina Faso.

Burkina Faso logistics overview: modes, trade and gateways

Logistics services in Burkina Faso rely on cross-border road corridors and regional seaports because the country is landlocked with 0 km of coastline. Most ocean cargo moves by truck between Ouagadougou and gateway ports such as Lome, Cotonou, Takoradi and Lagos.

Air freight services use Ouagadougou Thomas Sankara International Airport and Bobo Dioulasso Airport, which are the two airports with scheduled service. Rail provides about 622 km of track, supporting some inland moves. Exports are dominated by gold and cotton, while imports include refined petroleum, plastic products, cement, electricity and packaged medicine.

Freight forwarders in Burkina Faso need strong road transport arrangements to regional ports in Togo, Benin, Ghana and Nigeria, because all sea freight uses these gateways. Check that a forwarder understands the specific corridors to Lome, Cotonou, Takoradi and Lagos and can coordinate with lines such as APL, CMA CGM, Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd and PIL that maintain offices in Bobo Dioulasso or Ouagadougou.

Customs capability matters, as the logistics performance index customs score is 2.0 versus a world median of 2.6. Forwarders experienced with Switzerland, UAE, India, Mali and Cote d'Ivoire on the export side, and with Cote d'Ivoire, China, Ghana, Russia and France on the import side, are better placed to handle dominant trade flows. Membership in the WTO and AU shapes the trade context and tariff regime.

FCL and LCL shipping from and to Burkina Faso use foreign gateway ports because the country has no seaports. Typical routings run by road from Ouagadougou to Lome in Togo at about 955 km, to Cotonou in Benin at about 1,023 km, to Takoradi in Ghana at about 1,034 km, or to Lagos in Nigeria at about 1,073 km.

International lines including APL, CMA CGM, Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd and PIL have offices in Ouagadougou and/or Bobo Dioulasso to support containerized FCL and LCL services through these ports. Export values are about 11.1 billion USD and import values about 7.6 billion USD in 2025, supporting regular liner connectivity on these corridors.

Air freight in Burkina Faso moves mainly through Ouagadougou Thomas Sankara International Airport and Bobo Dioulasso Airport, the two airports with scheduled service. Total air cargo was about 1.5 million tonne-km in 2023.

Air makes particular sense for time-sensitive imports such as packaged medicine and selected high-value exports, and as a supplement to long overland routes to seaports. With 49 airports in total, domestic air access can also connect remote production areas to the main gateways.

Rail and road freight in Burkina Faso is built around regional cross-border routes and a modest rail network. Rail lines cover about 622 km, supporting some bulk and long haul movements, with rail freight reaching about 0.8 million tonne-km in 2007. Road links connect the country to Benin, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Niger and Togo. For access to deep sea services, trucks move via Lome at about 955 km from Ouagadougou, Cotonou at about 1,023 km, Takoradi at about 1,034 km and Lagos at about 1,073 km. These corridors handle exports such as gold and cotton, and imports including refined petroleum and cement.

Customs clearance in Burkina Faso operates within WTO rules and African Union membership. The country has been a member of the World Customs Organization since 1966-09-16. The average applied tariff is about 7.25 percent and the logistics performance index customs score is 2.0, compared with a world median of 2.6.

Shippers should plan around reported export lead times of about 5 days and import lead times of about 2 days. Core paperwork typically includes the commercial invoice, packing list and the relevant transport document for road, air or multimodal movements.