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Chad's landlocked position, poor transportation network, inadequate natural resources, and ongoing political turmoil have severely hampered economic development. The economy is based primarily on sedentary subsistence agriculture and nomadic pastoralism. The best farming zone is in the south, where rainfall is sufficient for the cultivation of cotton and peanuts (the country's leading cash crops) for export and some subsistence crops, including millet, sorghum, rice, cassava, and yams. Cattle, sheep, goats, and camels are raised, and there is fishing in Lake Chad. During drought periods, Chad requires food aid to meet necessary levels.
Natron and uranium are the country's chief minerals, and petroleum is produced in the southern Doba basin, which is connected by pipeline with the Cameroonian port of Kribi. Industry is limited to food processing and the production of textiles and light consumer goods. Imports : largely machinery, transportation equipment, industrial goods, petroleum products, and foodstuffs : generally outweigh exports, mainly cotton, cattle, textiles, and fish. Chad is a member of the Franc Zone. Its chief trading partners are France and other European Union countries, Cameroon, and South Africa.
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