ABSTRACT
The degree of concentration in the import trade in West Africa has been illustrated in the preceding chapter (Tables 7–10). The tables show that one firm is dominant in the (economic and statistical) sense of handling a significantly large share of the total; and it therefore substantially influences the market. However, it would not be correct to infer from this alone that the firm is able to coerce other firms or customers, or to dictate the volume, range and prices of merchandise imports into West Africa. The term ‘dominant’ is used in this study in the indicated technical sense only.
