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Business Matters: Falling Iron Ore Prices Hit Hard in Sierra Leone

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Falling Iron Ore Prices Hit Hard in Sierra Leone

05/05/2016 GMT

BBC World Service - Business Matters, Falling Iron Ore Prices Hit Hard in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone is feeling the effects of the global downturn in the price of iron ore

Sierra Leone is feeling the effects of the global downturn in the commodities market, particularly iron ore.

Sierra Leone is suffering from the global downturn in the commodities market, particularly iron ore. Only a few years ago it was the fastest growing country in Africa. In 2013, GDP growth was a massive 20%. All this was driven by the iron ore industry. Then in 2014, a steady and dramatic drop in the price of the mineral began. The two main mines closed and last year the economy shrank by nearly a quarter as a result. The BBC's Marie Keyworth reports from the mining region of Sierra Leone.

In just over seven weeks time, the people of Britain have a historic decision to make. Do they believe their future lies inside, or outside the European Union? Eight British economists have formed a group they are calling Economists for Brexit. It has released a report saying that quitting the EU would in fact expand the British economy by 4%. Among that group is Roger Bootle. He debates the matter with Graham Bishop, an economist who is keen for Britain to remain a part of the European Union. 

The US economist Irwin Stelzer tells us the Republican party is coming around to the idea of presidential candidate Donald Trump. 

And bad news for high rollers: the European Central Bank has announced that the €500 note is being withdrawn.

Presenter Roger Hearing is joined by Angela Mancini, managing director for Control Risks who is in Singapore, and Robert Jensen, a professor in the  school of journalism at the University of Texas in Austin.

(Picture: Shandong iron ore mine in Tonokolili District, central Sierra Leone)

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