weighted score 6.4 · nine dimensions
Country Risk Profile
Chad
Sourcing risk, regulatory exposure and audit intelligence for Chad-origin supply chains.
Forced & child labour
7
ILAB lists cattle, cotton, gold. Widespread child labour in agriculture and artisanal mining. 900,000 Sudanese refugees face heightened exploitation risk.
Worker rights & FOA
7
Core ILO conventions ratified but enforcement minimal. Labour inspectorate critically under-resourced. Military governance constrains practical freedom of association.
OHS & audit transparency
7
No meaningful independent audit ecosystem outside N'Djamena. Insecurity restricts access to production regions. OHS standards effectively unenforced.
Food & product safety
6
Minimal food safety regulatory infrastructure. No national food safety agency with enforcement capacity. Exports are predominantly crude oil — limited processed food exports.
Environmental & regulatory
5
Oil extraction environmental governance weak. Lake Chad shrinkage (~90% since 1960s) is a major environmental crisis. EUDR exposure via cattle and timber.
Governance & anti-corruption
9
TI CPI 2025: 22/100 — among the most corrupt countries globally. Military transition government under Mahamat Deby since 2021. Institutional independence extremely limited.
Tariff & preferential access
3
EU EBA provides duty-free, quota-free access. Effective applied tariff ~3%. Beneficial trade terms but limited export diversification to utilise them.
Non-tariff barriers
6
Landlocked geography creates severe logistics barriers. SPS capacity extremely limited. Export certification infrastructure minimal.
Supply chain traceability
8
Artisanal production dominates agriculture and mining. No traceability infrastructure. Multi-tier opacity endemic. Formal supply chain documentation rare outside oil sector.
Labour & Social Risk
Labour & Social Risk
- Forced labour risk
- Widespread child labour in agriculture, herding, and domestic service. Artisanal gold mining involves documented child and forced labour. Internally displaced populations and Sudanese refugees (~900,000 arriving since 2023) face heightened exploitation risk.
- Sectors at elevated risk
- Cotton harvesting, artisanal gold mining, livestock herding, charcoal production, and domestic service. Oil sector employs limited formal workforce but subcontracting chains are opaque.
- Audit limitations
- Independent social compliance auditing is extremely limited due to insecurity, poor infrastructure, and restricted access in conflict-affected regions. No meaningful audit ecosystem exists outside N'Djamena.
- ILO conventions
- Chad has ratified core ILO conventions but enforcement is minimal. Labour inspectorate is critically under-resourced. Freedom of association is legally permitted but practically constrained under military governance.
- ILAB status
- US Department of Labor lists cattle, cotton, and gold as goods produced with child or forced labour in Chad.
EU Regulatory Exposure
EU Regulatory Exposure
- GSP status
- Chad benefits from EU Everything But Arms (EBA) — duty-free, quota-free access for all products except arms. Effective applied tariff approximately 3%.
- EUDR exposure
- Chad produces cattle, timber products, and some soy — EUDR-regulated commodities. Due diligence requirements apply for relevant exports from 2025/2026. Limited traceability infrastructure creates compliance barriers.
- EU Forced Labour Regulation
- Regulation (EU) 2024/3015 applies from December 2027. Artisanal mining and agricultural sectors present elevated risk of investigation under Article 5.
- CBAM
- Minimal direct CBAM exposure — Chad's industrial exports to the EU are negligible. Oil exports (76% of total) are not covered by CBAM.
Logistics & Supply Chain
Logistics & Supply Chain
- Primary export corridor
- Landlocked — relies on Cameroon corridor (N'Djamena → Douala port, ~1,800 km) or Nigeria corridor via Maiduguri. Both routes subject to insecurity and infrastructure degradation.
- Key transit chokepoints
- Douala port (Cameroon) congestion. Road infrastructure between N'Djamena and Douala is poor, with seasonal impassability during rainy season (June–October).
- Typical transit time
- Surface freight N'Djamena to Douala: 7–14 days depending on season. Douala to EU ports: 18–25 days.
- Scope 3 relevance
- Landlocked routing through Cameroon adds significant road freight emissions before maritime leg. Total supply chain carbon intensity substantially higher than coastal alternatives.