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Full trade & compliance profile

Lesotho — Trade & Compliance

Lesotho's trade profile consolidates its merchandise flow from CEPII BACI, the preferential agreements it has entered from the World Bank, the international cargo conventions it has ratified from the UN Treaty Collection, and its applied tariff, VAT and currency of record from the World Bank, the EU and ISO 4217.

Every figure is shown as its named source records it and dated where the source dates it; trade partners and product codes link to their own pages where logibook profiles them.

5
trade agreements
4
cargo treaties
7.64%
MFN applied tariff

Memberships & standing

Income groupLower middle income
DatabookThe Record of Consolidated Knowledge
Lesotho beyond logistics?
Browse databook

Trade Flow

Top export markets
  1. 1South Africa42.4%
  2. 2USA23.1%
  3. 3Belgium21.9%
  4. 4India4.1%
  5. 5China2.7%
CEPII BACI · 2024
Top import sources
  1. 1South Africa78.2%
  2. 2China10.7%
  3. 3Taiwan3.2%
  4. 4India1.5%
  5. 5Japan1.0%
CEPII BACI · 2024
Leading export goods (HS2)
  1. 1Pearls, precious stones & metals34.6%
  2. 2Knitted apparel17.8%
  3. 3Non-knitted apparel12.6%
  4. 4Beverages & spirits7.6%
  5. 5Wool6.3%
CEPII BACI · 2024
Leading import goods (HS2)
  1. 1Mineral fuels & oils14.9%
  2. 2Machinery & mechanical appliances8.2%
  3. 3Electrical machinery6.1%
  4. 4Vehicles5.9%
  5. 5Knitted fabrics5.2%
CEPII BACI · 2024
Fastest-rising export markets
  1. 1South Africa+14.04pp
  2. 2India+4.14pp
  3. 3China+0.76pp
CEPII BACI · 2024
Declining export markets
  1. 1USA−7.65pp
  2. 2United Arab Emirates−6.20pp
  3. 3Belgium−4.46pp
CEPII BACI · 2024
Fastest-rising export goods
  1. 1Beverages & spirits+7.56pp
  2. 2Machinery & mechanical appliances+2.41pp
  3. 3Vehicles+1.20pp
CEPII BACI · 2024
Declining export goods
  1. 1Pearls, precious stones & metals−8.03pp
  2. 2Knitted apparel−6.17pp
  3. 3Non-knitted apparel−0.85pp
CEPII BACI · 2024

Showing the leading partners and product groups by trade share; the full bilateral flow matrix is inCEPII BACI · 2024

Preferential Trade Agreements

AfCFTA (African Continental Free Trade) Agreement2019
FTA & EIAGoods & Services
EU - SADC2016
FTAGoods
Southern African Development Community (SADC) - Accession of Seychelles2015
FTAGoods
Southern African Customs Union (SACU)2004
CUGoods
Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)1994
CUGoods
World Bank DTA · 5 trade agreements in force

International Cargo Treaties

  • United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. Vienna, 11 April 1980
    Party · 198199 ratifications
  • Convention on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone. Geneva, 29 April 1958
    Party · 197374 ratifications
  • International Convention on the Harmonization of Frontier Controls of Goods. Geneva, 21 October 1982
    Party · 198858 ratifications
  • Convention on Transit Trade of Land-locked States. New York, 8 July 1965
    Party · 196957 ratifications
UN Treaty Collection · 4 ratified

Fiscal & Tariffs

Currency
LSL
Loti
ISO numeric 4262 minor units
ISO 4217
MFN applied tariff
7.64%
simple average (2022)
World Bank WDI

Key commodities

Top agricultural output
Raw milk of cattle
182K t
FAOSTAT · 2024
Top mineral output
diamond
471.7K Carats
BGS · 2023
Energy production
Primary energy production
U.S. EIA

Top item per category of 37 commodities trackedfull lists: FAOSTAT · 2026-05 · British Geological Survey · U.S. EIA

All Sources

TradeCountry Trade Facts (CEPII BACI)
etalab-2.0
TradeWorld Bank Deep Trade Agreements (DTA)
cc-by-4.0
Sanctions & complianceUN Treaty Collection — Multilateral Treaties Deposited (MTDSG)
open
fiscalWorld Bank – World Development Indicators (WDI)
cc-by-4.0
fiscalISO 4217 Currency Codes
open
commoditythe British Geological Surveythe British Geological Survey
OGL
Referencelogibook trade-bloc referencelogibook trade-bloc reference
Compiled (public facts)
commoditythe U.S. Energy Information Administrationthe U.S. Energy Information Administration
Public domain (US gov)
commodityFAOSTATFAOSTAT
CC BY 4.0 IGO
Referenceinternational organisation membership recordsinternational organisation membership records
Public (official lists)
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