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Export from French Guiana
A short guide for companies selling from French Guiana: the export figures, the agreements and their limits, the main steps and who can help, each with its source.
1. What French Guiana sells, and who buys it
Goods exportsEstimate
Merchandise exports to foreign countries, mainland France excluded, were 543,389,000 euros in 2025 by customs’ provisional data; 490,113,729 euros were aerospace and space products.
Source: French customs, French Guiana exports, 2025 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of 2025
Largest export lineEstimate
92.2%
Aerospace and space construction products were 92.2 percent of exports outside the French customs territory from July 2025 to June 2026, by customs’ regional page.
Source: French customs, regional foreign trade page, French Guiana (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of 3rd quarter 2025 to 2nd quarter 2026
Top goods exports
2025
- 1. Aerospace and space equipment
- 2. Motor vehicles
- 3. Non-ferrous metals
- 4. Electrical equipment
- 5. Measuring, testing and navigation instruments
- 6. Metal ores
- 7. Tools, hardware and other metal goods
- 8. Prepared and canned fish products
Show 12 more products
- 9. Telephones and communication equipment
- 10. Basic chemicals, plastics and synthetic rubber
- 11. Industrial waste and scrap
- 12. Special-purpose machinery
- 13. Sports goods, toys and miscellaneous manufactures
- 14. General-purpose machinery
- 15. Computers and peripheral equipment
- 16. Machine tools
- 17. Steel and primary steel products
- 18. Plastic products
- 19. Wood and wood articles
- 20. Miscellaneous chemicals
- Aerospace and space construction products, equipment linked to space activity, are 90.2 percent of 2025 foreign shipments; they are never a small-company line and are not suggested. Source (opens in a new tab)
- Lines follow customs’ own 129-line product list with codes such as C30C, not HS codes, and values are euros in thousands from provisional quarterly data summed over 2025. Source (opens in a new tab)
- The customs table gives no split between goods made in French Guiana and re-exports, and shipments to mainland France and other French regions are not in it. Source (opens in a new tab)
- Aerospace and space products were 586,709,704 euros in 2023, 3,191,396 in 2024 and 490,113,729 in 2025; without them, exports were 39,211,126 euros in 2024 and 53,275,271 in 2025. Judge the change on 2024 without this line. Source (opens in a new tab)
Source: French customs, French Guiana exports, 2025 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of 2025
Where the goods go
2025, share of goods exports
- Germany6.9%
- Italy2.8%
- United Arab Emirates2.2%
- United Kingdom1.3%
- Switzerland0.8%
- Spain0.7%
- Suriname0.3%
- United States0.3%
- Destinations exclude mainland France and other French regions; IEDOM’s 218 million euros for 2025 is a different measure, with mainland France at 71.8 percent and launches mostly counted as services. Source (opens in a new tab)
- The residual row "Pays non classifiés ailleurs" holds 83.8 percent of 2025 exports, 455.1 million euros of it aerospace products; it is left out, but shares use the full total. Source (opens in a new tab)
- Aerospace and space products were 31,206,649 of the 37,471,264 euros shipped to Germany in 2025, by customs’ product-by-country table. Source (opens in a new tab)
Source: French customs, French Guiana exports, 2025 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of 2025
- Only 5 product lines reach 0.5 percent of the full 2025 total; measured without aerospace products, 17 do, and the list shows customs’ top 30 without padding. Source (opens in a new tab)
2. What to look into next
Our reading
The research marks tools, hardware and other metal goods, prepared and canned fish products and sports goods, toys and miscellaneous manufactures as lines a small or mid-sized company could be in. If yours is one, check which markets buy that line, not only French Guiana’s top destinations overall.
Source: French customs, French Guiana exports, 2025 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
Based on: Top goods exports
Promote:Global’s reading of the figures above, not a source’s statement, and not advice.
3. Trade agreements
What each arrangement can mean for a seller, and its limits. A preference is conditional: check the rules of origin before you quote.
European Union customs union and single market (outermost region)
Goods from French Guiana are in the European Union customs territory, which the territory’s customs page states.
French Guiana is a third territory for tax, so shipments to mainland France and other member states need an export declaration.
Source: French customs, page for businesses in French Guiana (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
APE CE / CARIFORUM
Gives goods of European Union origin tariff preferences in CARIFORUM states, Suriname and Guyana among them, when the exporter proves origin.
Customs dates its origin protocol from December 29, 2008; claim it with an invoice declaration under 6,000 euros, an approved exporter’s declaration or an EUR.1 certificate.
Source: French customs, European Union trade agreements, October 2026 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 8, 2026
Accord commercial intérimaire UE / Mercosur
Gives goods of European Union origin, French Guiana’s included, tariff preferences in Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay when the exporter proves origin.
As of customs’ October 8, 2026 list, it applies provisionally from May 1, 2026; above 6,000 euros, only REX-registered exporters may state origin.
Source: French customs, European Union trade agreements, October 2026 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 8, 2026
4. Steps to export
The main steps, in order, each with the body responsible and its official page.
Exporting from French Guiana
- Get an EORI number from customs, which identifies you in every customs declaration.Direction générale des douanes et droits indirectsOfficial page (opens in a new tab)
Source: French customs, EORI number, December 2025 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of December 9, 2025
- Check whether your goods are dual-use items and, if so, apply for an individual or global export license.Direction générale des EntreprisesOfficial page (opens in a new tab)
Source: Directorate-General for Enterprise, dual-use export license, 2024 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 23, 2024
- For plants and plant products, ask the agriculture directorate about the phytosanitary certificate the importing country requires.Direction de l’Alimentation, de l’Agriculture et de la Forêt de GuyaneOfficial page (opens in a new tab)
Source: French customs, exporting plant products (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
- Find the French and European standards that apply to your product.AFNOROfficial page (opens in a new tab)
Source: AFNOR, standardization in France (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
Show 5 more export steps
- File the customs export declaration: an EX declaration for countries outside the European Union, a CO declaration for mainland France and other member states.Direction générale des douanes et droits indirectsOfficial page (opens in a new tab)
Source: French customs, exporting from an overseas department (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
- If you owe internal octroi de mer, list your exports in annex B of the quarterly return and claim any refund.Direction générale des douanes et droits indirectsOfficial page (opens in a new tab)
Source: French customs, exporting from an overseas department (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
- Ask a chamber of commerce and industry for a certificate of non-preferential origin when the importing country requires one.Chambre de commerce et d’industrieOfficial page (opens in a new tab)
Source: French customs, non-preferential origin (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of January 16, 2025
- Apply for a REX number if you will certify preferential origin yourself under an agreement that uses the registered exporter system.Direction générale des douanes et droits indirectsOfficial page (opens in a new tab)
Source: French customs, registered exporter REX application (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
- Ask Team France Export, the national public export support network, about support for your project.Team France ExportOfficial page (opens in a new tab)
Source: Team France Export, home page (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
5. Organizations that help exporters
Start with Business France and DGDDI. Each card links to the organization’s own site.
Each card says what it can help with:Get adviceFind financeMeet requirementsResearch markets
Export development and market information
- Get advice
National trade and investment agency
Business France
Helps French companies start exporting through Team France Export, and prospects and supports foreign investors setting up in France.
Visit Business France (opens in a new tab)Source: Business France, home page (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
- Meet requirements
Central bank agency
IEDOM
Institut d’émission des départements d’outre-mer
Publishes the annual economic report on French Guiana, with trade, price, tax and sector data.
Visit IEDOM (opens in a new tab)Source: IEDOM, French Guiana annual economic report 2025 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of July 2, 2026
Show 1 more organization
- Research markets
National statistics office
INSEE
Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques
Publishes French Guiana’s population, regional accounts and monthly consumer prices.
Visit INSEE (opens in a new tab)Source: INSEE, French Guiana consumer prices, September 2026 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 28, 2026
Customs and tax
- Meet requirements
Customs authority
DGDDI
Direction générale des douanes et droits indirects
Takes export declarations, issues EORI and registered exporter numbers, and collects octroi de mer on goods in French Guiana.
Visit DGDDI (opens in a new tab)Source: French customs, exporting from an overseas department (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
- Meet requirements
Tax authority
DGFiP
Direction générale des Finances publiques
Publishes the official tax guidance, including the ZFANG profit abatement for businesses in French Guiana.
Standards and sector requirements
- Meet requirements
Agriculture and food authority
DAAF Guyane
Direction de l’Alimentation, de l’Agriculture et de la Forêt de Guyane
Runs the State’s agriculture, food and forest services in French Guiana, with a section on animal and plant import and export.
Visit DAAF Guyane (opens in a new tab)Source: DAAF Guyane, animal and plant import and export (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
- Meet requirements
National standards body
AFNOR
Association française de normalisation
Coordinates French standards and represents France in European and international standards bodies.
Visit AFNOR (opens in a new tab)Source: AFNOR, standardization in France (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
Show 1 more organization
- Get advice
Enterprise ministry directorate
DGE
Direction générale des Entreprises
Runs the dual-use goods service that licenses controlled exports and publishes the economic security guide on investment screening.
Visit DGE (opens in a new tab)Source: Directorate-General for Enterprise, dual-use export license, 2024 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 23, 2024
Chambers and industry associations
- Get advice
Agricultural chamber
Chambre d’agriculture de la Guyane
Advises farmers in French Guiana on setting up and handing on farms, training, livestock and cutting pesticide use through Écophyto.
6. Worth knowing
Export concentration
Customs counts aerospace and space construction products at 90.2 percent of 2025 foreign shipments, and IEDOM says launches are mostly counted as services.
What to do: Read the product table without the aerospace line before you judge French Guiana’s other exports.
Sources: French customs, French Guiana exports, 2025 (in French) (opens in a new tab); IEDOM, French Guiana annual economic report 2025 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
Gold dependence
IEDOM counts gold at 40.3 percent of 2025 goods exports by value, and mining runs under State-issued titles.
What to do: Treat gold as a mining sector, and check titles with the DGTM before you build a project around it.
Sources: IEDOM, French Guiana annual economic report 2025 (in French) (opens in a new tab); DGTM Guyane, extractive industries unit, updated October 2024 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
Shipments to mainland France
Customs treats French Guiana as a third territory for tax, so shipments to mainland France need an export declaration and count as exports.
What to do: Ask customs which declaration type fits your destination before the first shipment.
Sources: French customs, exporting from an overseas department (in French) (opens in a new tab); French customs, page for businesses in French Guiana (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
Informal regional trade
IEDOM reports little formal trade with neighbors, about 1.6 million euros with Suriname, and says river trade is mostly informal.
What to do: Check customs rules before you start cross-border trade by river.
Source: IEDOM, French Guiana annual economic report 2025 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
7. How Promote:Global helps
- Compare potential export marketsSee which markets import what you sell, ranked on public trade data, and read each country before you commit.
- Check duties and document requirementsCheck the duty, the origin conditions for a preferential rate and the documents a shipment needs.
- Find advisors and service firmsAsk an advisory firm a scoped, paid question, or browse firms that list their own services, from legal work to logistics.
- Organize your next stepsKeep each product and market in a project, with a roadmap of steps you work through.
Turn this guide into your French Guiana project.
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Promote:French Guiana is an independent guide by Promote:Global, not an official government portal. The organizations named here are independent public and membership bodies, not Promote:Global partners, and every link goes to their own site.
Facts read from public sources, with an editorial cut-off of November 1, 2026. Nothing here is investment, legal, tax or sanctions advice. Check current status with the organization before you rely on it.