The 2007 Bank Note of the Year
ECONOMY
Traditionally, seaborne trade played an important role in the Islands' economy. Today, agriculture is the principal economic activity with crops grown both for domestic consumption and export. The major food crops are cassava, coconut, bananas, rice, sweet potatoes, pulses, and corn. Vanilla, ylang-ylang, cloves, and copra have been the major export crops.The 2007 Bank Note of the Year
ECONOMY
The Comoros were, at one time, the world's leading producer of the essence of ylang-ylang, an oil widely used in the perfume industry. The Islands were also the world's second-largest producer of vanilla. The market demands for these products have have become very volatile, however, and Comorian producers no longer know what to expect from year to year. In 1996, for example, there was a 60% drop in the value of vanilla and exports declined by 42.7% from the previous year. During the same year, the volume of ylang-ylang essence declined by 15.8% and the value of the exports dropped by 24.6%.
Some animal husbandry by individuals exists and a small scale fishing industry provides seafood for local consumption.
There is a small, growing tourist industry on the Islands. With the recent investment in hotels by the country of Dubai, the tourist industry will probably see extensive expansion in the near future. For information about this industry and others in the Comorian Union, contact the Chamber of Commerce in Moroni (Tel. 269 773-0958).
The domestic economy is largely dependent upon remittances from family members abroad, mostly in France, and the Islands have a relatively large negative trade balance. The government has been for many years dependent upon external aid. France has been the major source of this aid and has been their major trading partner. For information on U.S. trade with the Comoros click here.
The currency of the country is the Comorian franc (KMF). It was originally pegged to the French franc at 50 Comorian francs to 1 French franc. Its value today is tied to the Euro at an exchange rate of 491.96775 KMF to 1 Euro. To find the current rate of exchange for the U.S. Dollar click here. There are banks on the islands of Grande Comore, Anjouan, and Mayotte but no bank on Moheli. The banks are open Monday through Friday mornings.
See the World Bank for an excellent overview of the economic status of the country.