Economy, Mining and Manufacturing

Mineral products of Madagascar include chromite, mica, graphite, and salt. Offshore petroleum deposits, discovered in 1980, have not yet been commercially exploited. Plans have been initiated to extract bauxite and ilmenite, a titanium-bearing ore. Food processing (meat packing, brewing, and sugar refining) is the leading manufacturing industry. Petroleum refining and motor-vehicle assembly are of growing importance, and some production of textiles, electronic equipment, glass, printed materials, and tobacco items takes place.