Material and labour prices

Market ranges, in US dollars and local currency.

BeninBuilding in Cotonou1 USD = 586 FCFA (Live exchange rate)Data updated August 30, 2026

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Item	Unit	USD	FCFA	Confidence
Initial verification, per circuit (IEC 60364-6)Continuity of the protective conductor, insulation resistance, earth loop impedance and RCD trip time, measured circuit by circuit and written up. IEC 60364-6 requires this before an installation is energised, and no schedule in these markets prices it, because it is usually not done. Estimated from an electrician’s day rate against the number of circuits one person tests in a day. The bill bought the board and the earth electrode and verified neither, which is the same shape as a missing line anywhere else in this product: it looks exactly like a test that costs nothing. No Benin figure obtained: the Ivorian band brought to the Benin labourer’s wage, a factor of 0.70. This is a trade’s time rather than imported goods, so it follows the wage and not the freight.	per circuit	$3 – $8	1,642 FCFA – 4,926 FCFA	Estimated
Isolation valve, per fixtureA quarter-turn brass ball valve and its connection, one at each fixture and one on the incoming main. Estimated from merchant prices for 15 and 20 mm valves; no published schedule separates them from the fixture. Without them an installation has no way to isolate a branch, so changing a tap means shutting the whole house off: and in practice means the tap is not changed. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	per valve	$6 – $18	3,518 FCFA – 10,555 FCFA	Estimated
Wall copingA weathered cap over the top of a wall, cast in place or precast, throwing water clear of both faces. Estimated from the concrete, the formwork and the mason’s time for a 300 mm cap rather than from a published rate, because coping is normally swallowed inside a per-metre wall price. An uncapped wall takes rain straight into its top course, and the first failure of a boundary wall here is almost always the top three courses rather than the foundation. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	per metre	$6 – $16	3,518 FCFA – 9,382 FCFA	Estimated
Damp-proof courseBitumen felt or polythene laid in the bed joint above ground level, breaking the path water takes up through the masonry. Estimated from roll prices at the width a 150 to 200 mm wall needs. Rising damp is what makes the bottom of a rendered wall blister and shed within two or three wet seasons, and the cure after the fact is to take the render off and start again. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	per metre	$1 – $4	704 FCFA – 2,052 FCFA	Estimated
Gate lock and drop boltA lock and a drop bolt into the threshold, which is what secures a gate rather than what hangs it. Deliberately not hinges or paint : the gate leaf here is priced through the boundary’s own material with a fabrication factor whose written basis already names the frame, the hinges and the paint, so buying them again would charge the same money twice. That is the mistake `knownCosts` exists to avoid, and it is easier to make when adding a line than when removing one. Estimated from merchant prices for a padlockable gate lock and a galvanised drop bolt. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	per set	$60 – $200	35,183 FCFA – 117,277 FCFA	Estimated
Formwork, per m² of contact areaSheet, bearers, nails, props and release oil, measured the way a bordereau measures it, per square metre of concrete face formed, with the sheet amortised over about four uses. Nothing in this product priced formwork at all, and no concrete rate here claims to include it, so every reinforced element was quietly assumed to cast itself. It is not a small line: on a boundary wall with posts and two tie beams the formed area is roughly twice the wall’s own footprint. Estimated from plywood and melamine sheet prices in this market against a four-use life; a merchant quotation would replace the sheet share directly. No Benin figure obtained: the Ivorian band brought to the Benin labourer’s wage, a factor of 0.70. This is a trade’s time rather than imported goods, so it follows the wage and not the freight.	per m² formed	$3 – $8	1,642 FCFA – 4,515 FCFA	Estimated
Binding wire (for tying reinforcement)Annealed wire for tying bars and links into a cage. Ordered at 12 kg per tonne of reinforcement, which is the middle of the 10 to 15 kg range trades work to. Estimated from merchant prices for annealed wire by the coil. It is a trivial cost and a total stopper: a cage cannot be tied without it, and it was missing from every bill this product has ever produced. No Benin figure obtained: the Ivorian band brought to the Benin labourer’s wage, a factor of 0.70. This is a trade’s time rather than imported goods, so it follows the wage and not the freight.	per kg	$1 – $2	616 FCFA – 1,437 FCFA	Estimated
Weep hole (75 mm PVC sleeve through the wall)A short PVC sleeve cast or built through the wall just above ground on the exposed face, with the mason’s time to place it. Estimated from offcut pipe prices and a few minutes’ work each; no schedule prices a weep hole, because it is the first thing left out. Leaving them out is not a saving of this size : an undrained wall carries roughly 1.75 times the push of a drained one, because saturated backfill adds full hydrostatic pressure that no friction angle reduces. No Benin figure obtained: the Ivorian band brought to the Benin labourer’s wage, a factor of 0.70. This is a trade’s time rather than imported goods, so it follows the wage and not the freight.	per weep hole	$1 – $5	821 FCFA – 2,873 FCFA	Estimated
Filter fabric (behind the wall)A non-woven geotextile wrapping the granular drainage blanket so the fines in the retained soil do not migrate into it. Estimated from roll prices for a light non-woven grade. Without it the drain silts up and becomes more soil within a season or two, which is worse than never building it: the wall is then loaded as an undrained wall by a detail everybody believes is working. No Benin figure obtained: the Ivorian band brought to the Benin labourer’s wage, a factor of 0.70. This is a trade’s time rather than imported goods, so it follows the wage and not the freight.	per m²	$1 – $2	493 FCFA – 1,437 FCFA	Estimated
Concrete curing (sheeting and water, 7 days)Polythene sheeting at 200 microns used twice over, the water to keep the surface wet for seven days, and the labour of wetting it. An outright estimate: no schedule in these markets prices curing separately, because it is almost always buried in a concrete rate and therefore almost always skipped on site. It is priced here for the opposite reason, in this climate a slab above about 32 °C loses water faster than bleed replaces it, and concrete that dries before it hydrates never reaches its grade whatever the mix design said. A well-batched concrete badly cured is weaker than a badly batched one cured properly, so this is the cheapest line in the bill measured against what it protects. No Benin figure obtained: the Ivorian band brought to the Benin labourer’s wage, a factor of 0.70. This is a trade’s time rather than imported goods, so it follows the wage and not the freight.	per m² of surface	$0 – $1	246 FCFA – 657 FCFA	Estimated
Movement joint (backer rod and sealant)Compressible filler and a gun-applied sealant, per metre of joint height. Nothing in these packs is comparable enough to scale from, a joint is a backer rod and a cartridge, not a coating sold by the square metre, so this is an outright estimate from what a hardware merchant charges for polyurethane sealant and closed-cell filler at the coverage a 15 mm joint uses. It is a small line against the wall it protects: a 140 m run needs about 55 m of joint, and leaving it out is why a new boundary wall cracks in its first dry season. No Benin figure obtained: the Ivorian band brought to the Benin labourer’s wage, a factor of 0.70. This is a trade’s time rather than imported goods, so it follows the wage and not the freight.	per metre	$2 – $6	1,231 FCFA – 3,284 FCFA	Estimated
Consumer unit, per way (three phase)A three-phase way: the same protective device on a busbar fed from three lines rather than one, so the board, the main switch and the incoming device all cost more for the same number of circuits. Priced from this market’s own single-phase way at the premium wholesalers quote for the three-phase range. No regional survey separates them. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	per way	$18 – $58	10,555 FCFA – 33,893 FCFA	Estimated
Supply cable (3 × 10 mm²)Single-phase supply, three cores: line, neutral and earth against the four of a three-phase run. Priced from this market’s own four-core cable at the ratio of the copper in it, which is what a merchant charges for cable, the drum is sold by weight of conductor. No regional survey separates the two sizes. This is what an ordinary house here is connected with; three-phase is for a workshop, a borehole pump of any size, or a house large enough to need the load balanced. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	per metre	$4 – $10	2,052 FCFA – 5,747 FCFA	Estimated
Copper supply pipe (ø 22)Copper, soldered. Rare here and dear: it is imported, it needs a plumber with a torch, and the offcuts walk off a site. It is specified where hot water runs through a roof void or where a client wants a system that outlives the building. Priced at the multiple of PPR that importers quote for tube of the same bore; no regional survey covers it, and in most of these markets a merchant will order it in rather than stock it. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	per metre	$7 – $25	4,105 FCFA – 14,542 FCFA	Estimated
Pressure PVC supply pipe (ø 25)Pressure PVC, the cheaper supply pipe and the one most self-builds here use for cold runs. It is solvent-welded rather than fusion-welded, so it needs no heating iron and any mason can lay it : which is why it is common : and it must not carry hot water or run in sunlight, where it goes brittle. Priced from this market’s own PPR at the discount merchants quote; no regional survey separates supply pipe by material. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	per metre	$1 – $4	762 FCFA – 2,404 FCFA	Estimated
Stair nosing (aluminium or PVC)A pre-formed aluminium or PVC stair nosing, sold by the metre and fixed to the front edge of each tread. It takes the wear and stops the arris of a cast step breaking away, which is what makes an unnosed concrete stair look derelict in two years. No regional survey prices it; the band is scaled from this market’s own skirting, which is the same kind of extruded trim bought the same way. No Benin figure obtained: the Ivorian band brought to the Benin labourer’s wage, a factor of 0.70. This is a trade’s time rather than imported goods, so it follows the wage and not the freight.	per metre	$3 – $11	1,847 FCFA – 6,568 FCFA	Estimated
Exterior paint (20 L drum)Exterior acrylic, sold in the same 20 L drum as the interior grade. It carries more binder and a UV package because this face takes full sun and driven rain through a wet season, and an interior paint put outside chalks within a year. Priced from this market’s own interior paint at the premium merchants quote for the exterior grade, since no regional survey separates the two : the Kinshasa paint survey does not even state its container size, which is why the interior figure is itself an estimate. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	per drum	$39 – $94	22,869 FCFA – 55,120 FCFA	Estimated
Primer or sealer (20 L drum)New render is alkaline and thirsty: without a sealer the first top coat is drunk into the wall, the colour goes patchy and the covering rate collapses, so the paint saved is spent twice over. Priced from this market’s own paint at the discount a primer usually carries, since no regional survey separates the two. A repaint over sound existing paint needs none, and the element lets it be unticked. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	per drum	$21 – $56	12,314 FCFA – 32,838 FCFA	Estimated
Door ironmongery (lock, handle, 3 hinges)A lock case, a handle set and three hinges. Doors here are sold as a leaf and a frame and nothing else, `door_timber` is a timber door with frame, so a house with twelve doors needs twelve sets and the bill had none of them. No regional survey prices ironmongery; the band is scaled from this market’s own timber door, at the fifth of the door price merchants quote for a plain mortice set. A cylinder lock on an external door costs more and a padlock hasp costs less: this is the ordinary internal set, and somebody fitting security ironmongery overrides the line. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	per set	$8 – $31	4,691 FCFA – 18,178 FCFA	Estimated
Electrical point, surface mountedSurface-mounted point: PVC trunking and clips on the face of the wall, no chase cut and no making good. Priced from this market’s own chased point rate less 20 per cent, the chasing and the render patch are what the two installations differ by, and on blockwork that is about a fifth of the point. No published survey separates the two: CYPE and the regional schedules price a chased point, because that is what a specification asks for. It is the cheaper build and the common one in a rented shop, a workshop, or any wall somebody expects to open again. No Benin figure obtained: the Ivorian band brought to the Benin labourer’s wage, a factor of 0.70. This is a trade’s time rather than imported goods, so it follows the wage and not the freight.	per point	$4 – $7	2,463 FCFA – 4,105 FCFA	Estimated
Ridge capping (pre-folded)A pre-folded ridge cap, sold in 2 m lengths at roughly the price of one sheet, which is the ratio merchants across the region quote. No published survey covers it, regional price surveys track cement, steel and sheeting, never the accessories, so the band is scaled from this market’s own sheet price and moves with it. It is a real line rather than flat sheet: a cap is folded to the ridge angle and costs more per square metre than the sheet it closes. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	per metre	$6 – $11	3,518 FCFA – 6,450 FCFA	Estimated
Roofing fixings (box of 100)Self-drilling screws with EPDM washers, sold by the box of 100 at any hardware merchant. No published survey covers this item: regional price surveys track cement, steel and sheeting, never fasteners. The band starts from a retail price of 0.12 to 0.25 USD a screw observed across the region, and scales with this market’s own sheet price. At 7 screws/m² it is 1 to 2 per cent of the sheet cost, an error here does not move a roof budget, while omitting it drops a real item: a 300 m² roof needs about 2,100 of them. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	per box of 100	$10 – $22	5,864 FCFA – 12,900 FCFA	Estimated
Grey cement (50 kg bag)The floor is the legal ceiling: the interministerial order of 17 June 2022 sets cement at 75,000 FCFA a tonne for Cotonou and the Atlantique-Littoral, which is 3,750 FCFA on a 50 kg bag, converted at 600 XOF/USD. The top of the band is the street: in April 2026 the bag was changing hands at 5,000 to 6,000 FCFA in Cotonou, a rise the Benin cement producers’ association denied on 28 April, insisting ex-works prices had not moved. Both figures are true and they do not contradict each other: one is what the law allows, the other what the depot asks. The band carries the gap rather than picking a side, because a buyer ordering a tonne from a depot will pay somewhere between the two and nothing published says where.	per bag	$6 – $10	3,665 FCFA – 5,864 FCFA	Derived
Scaffolding, erect and hireDerived from this pack’s labourer wage (5.7 to 8.5 a day) at an output of 2.5 to 6 m² of face erected, moved and struck per worker-day; hiring the equipment weighs less than the labour. Measured on the face worked above 2 m: below that you work off the ground or off trestles and nothing is hired. Nothing in this product bought any, when a 2.40 m wall rendered on both faces is not built from the ground. No Benin figure obtained: the Ivorian band brought to the Benin labourer’s wage, a factor of 0.70. This is a trade’s time rather than imported goods, so it follows the wage and not the freight.	per m² of elevation	$1 – $2	390 FCFA – 1,396 FCFA	Estimated
Slab proppingDerived from this pack’s labourer wage (5.7 to 8.5 a day), plus the hire of the props. A suspended slab is held by its props for three weeks before it carries its own weight: the formwork gives it its shape, the propping stops it coming down. Formwork has been priced since 2026-08-21 and what holds it up still was not. No Benin figure obtained: the Ivorian band brought to the Benin labourer’s wage, a factor of 0.70. This is a trade’s time rather than imported goods, so it follows the wage and not the freight.	per m² of soffit	$1 – $3	586 FCFA – 1,935 FCFA	Estimated
Setting outDerived from this pack’s labourer wage (5.7 to 8.5 a day) at an output of 5 to 12 m of perimeter set out per worker-day: profiles, lines, level and the day of the gang that marks it. It is the first spend on any site and no element carried it. Setting out wrongly is not corrected, it is demolished. No Benin figure obtained: the Ivorian band brought to the Benin labourer’s wage, a factor of 0.70. This is a trade’s time rather than imported goods, so it follows the wage and not the freight.	per metre of perimeter	$0 – $1	197 FCFA – 698 FCFA	Estimated
Mixing water, deliveredA cubic metre of concrete takes about 180 litres of mixing water, and on most sites here it arrives by tanker or in drums rather than through a connection. Estimated at the price of a tanker load spread over the volume of concrete, not at the metered price of water. Distinct from curing, already priced separately: this one goes into the mix, that one protects it after the pour. No Benin figure obtained: the Ivorian band brought to the Benin labourer’s wage, a factor of 0.70. This is a trade’s time rather than imported goods, so it follows the wage and not the freight.	per m³ of concrete or mortar	$0 – $2	291 FCFA – 1,161 FCFA	Estimated
Hand excavation, ordinary groundDerived from this pack’s labourer wage (5.7 to 8.5 a day) at the usual output for hand digging in ordinary ground, 1.5 to 2.5 m³ per worker-day: 8.5 ÷ 1.5 at the top of the band, 5.7 ÷ 2.5 at the bottom. A fixed price in dollars would mean nothing here, earthworks are almost entirely labour, and the labourer’s wage varies sixfold across the markets in the catalogue. Hard, rocky or waterlogged ground is outside this band and is handled case by case. No Benin figure obtained: the Ivorian band brought to the Benin labourer’s wage, a factor of 0.70. This is a trade’s time rather than imported goods, so it follows the wage and not the freight.	per m³	$2 – $4	938 FCFA – 2,328 FCFA	Estimated
Washed crushed sand (0/5)This market has no separate survey for crushed sand. Derived from this pack’s natural sand (13.0 to 24.0) at the ratio of 1.5 surveyed in Kolwezi on 2026-08-21, where Dilala natural sand is delivered at 20 USD/m³ and Katonto crushed sand at 30 USD/m³. It is the ratio that is carried over and not the price: crushing and washing cost much the same anywhere, whereas the price of natural sand depends mostly on the distance to the river. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	per m³	$20 – $36	11,435 FCFA – 21,110 FCFA	Estimated
Lagoon or river sandNo published survey per m³. The only Cotonou quotations found are CoinAfrique listings: a tipper load of building sand delivered on the edge of Cotonou at 65,000 to 70,000 FCFA, on six- and ten-wheel bodies. Divided by an 8 to 12 m³ body that is 5,400 to 8,750 FCFA a m³; the top is carried to 9,000 for fuel and quarry fees since, the listings being about three years old. It is the body volume, not the price, that makes the per-m³ figure : ask the capacity before comparing. Sand does not travel, and Cotonou has its own to hand, lagoon and coastal: this is the line on which Benin is the cheapest market in this product along the Gulf front.	per m³	$9 – $15	5,277 FCFA – 8,796 FCFA	Estimated
Crushed gravelThe exact inverse of sand, and for a geological reason. Southern Benin is sedimentary: there is no granite under Cotonou. Crushed stone comes from the quarries at Bohicon, 130 km away, and Parakou, 420 km, and transport dominates the delivered price. Accès Service advertises the tonne delivered “from 25,000 FCFA”, which is 35,000 to 40,000 FCFA a m³ at a loose bulk density of 1.4 to 1.6, and that gives the top of the band. The floor is what a Cotonou site plausibly pays on a full load from a coastal supplier; none of them publishes a price. An order-of-magnitude bracket, to be replaced by a delivered lorry price.	per m³	$27 – $62	15,832 FCFA – 36,356 FCFA	Estimated
Rubble stoneNo published survey. Uncalibrated quarry stone, much used in foundations. Set below crushed gravel in the same ratio as elsewhere in this product, so it inherits the same handicap: it comes from the same Bohicon and Parakou quarries and pays the same haul. On a southern site, stone is the line where Benin pays most for its geography.	per m³	$20 – $44	11,728 FCFA – 25,801 FCFA	Estimated
Reinforcement barFerabeton, an importer serving Cotonou, quotes USD 590 a tonne delivered in Benin (page dated 16 January 2026): that is the floor, an import price before trader’s margin, handling and VAT. The top is retail: a 12 m length of 12 mm bar weighs 10.66 kg, and sub-regional retail prices put that bar between 6,000 and 8,000 FCFA, which is about 940 to 1,250 USD a tonne. Benin rolls no steel: all of it lands at the port of Cotonou and follows the world price plus freight. To be re-checked more often than the rest, steel moving fast.	per tonne	$600 – $1,050	351,832 FCFA – 615,705 FCFA	Estimated
Steel section (IPE, HEA)Sections imported through Cotonou. Fabrication (cutting, drilling, welding, painting, erection) weighs more heavily than the material in a market where structural steel is uncommon in a single house. Slightly above the Ivorian level: Cotonou is a real port but Abidjan handles more than twice the tonnage, and the difference is paid on low-volume lines.	per tonne	$800 – $1,300	469,109 FCFA – 774,029 FCFA	Estimated
Cement block 15 × 20 × 40Derived from the capped cement price: a 15 cm block takes about 0.022 of a bag, plus sand, moulding and the maker’s margin. Blocks are moulded in the district where the building goes up and do not travel, so this price follows that town’s cement and nothing else. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	each	$1 – $1	293 FCFA – 457 FCFA	Estimated
Cement block 10 × 20 × 40The same derivation as the 15 cm block, in proportion to the volume of material used. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	each	$0 – $1	205 FCFA – 311 FCFA	Estimated
Cement block 15 × 20 × 40A Cotonou block-yard listing on iBenin quotes, delivered and unloaded on site in Cotonou on a minimum of 500 units: 12 cm block at 280 FCFA, 15 cm block at 300 FCFA, 15 cm floor pot at 300 FCFA. 300 FCFA is USD 0.50 at 600 XOF/USD, and that is the floor. The top carries the April 2026 cement rise through: cement is the dominant input in a hollow block, and a bag that has gone from 3,750 to 6,000 FCFA takes the block towards 450 FCFA. The listing carries no date, which is its main weakness.	each	$1 – $1	293 FCFA – 440 FCFA	Derived
Cement block 20 × 20 × 40The same derivation as the 15 cm block, in proportion to the volume of material used. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	each	$1 – $1	457 FCFA – 674 FCFA	Estimated
Half block 15 × 20 × 20A half block, moulded in the same shortened mould and sold from the same yard. The price is derived from the full block of the same thickness at 60%: the material halves, but moulding, handling and curing cost the same per piece, so a half block never sells at half price. No direct survey confirms it yet; this is a reasoned order of magnitude, not an observed price. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	each	$0 – $0	176 FCFA – 274 FCFA	Estimated
Half block 20 × 20 × 20A half block, moulded in the same shortened mould and sold from the same yard. The price is derived from the full block of the same thickness at 60%: the material halves, but moulding, handling and curing cost the same per piece, so a half block never sells at half price. No direct survey confirms it yet; this is a reasoned order of magnitude, not an observed price. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	each	$0 – $1	274 FCFA – 405 FCFA	Estimated
Hollow block 25 × 20 × 40The same derivation as the 15 cm block, in proportion to the volume of material used. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	each	$1 – $1	516 FCFA – 762 FCFA	Estimated
Solid block 15 × 20 × 40The same derivation as the 15 cm hollow block, with solid material in place of the voids. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	each	$1 – $1	481 FCFA – 733 FCFA	Estimated
Stabilised compressed earth blockManual press, site soil, 5 to 8% cement. The price is mostly labour and cement: it follows the minimum wage downwards and the cement bag upwards, and in Benin those two have pulled in opposite directions since 2026. Little used in formal building, where the hollow block dominates outright.	each	$0 – $0	106 FCFA – 264 FCFA	Estimated
Fired brickOne name for two products: artisanal kiln brick and factory perforated brick, which share neither price nor strength. The band covers both, which makes it unusable as it stands: override the line if the project uses one or the other. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	each	$0 – $1	41 FCFA – 293 FCFA	Estimated
Mud brickMoulded on site and sun dried, still common in the Atacora and the Borgou where the dry season is long and clean. It does not travel and is hardly sold: the price is a labourer’s time at the minimum wage. On the coast, two rainy seasons and 1,300 mm a year make it hard to keep without a serious plinth and roof overhang.	each	$0 – $0	18 FCFA – 47 FCFA	Estimated
Structural timberBenin has teak, and it is a real resource rather than an accident. The national timber office works long-established plantations around the Lama forest, Djigbé and the Zou, and Benin teak is exported. What is missing is ordinary softwood carcassing: this line therefore mixes an abundant local species with imported timber, which is what makes the band wide. Set at the Ivorian level and very slightly below it: the Ivorian forest is far more drawn down than the Benin plantations. State the species before comparing two quotations: here, more than elsewhere, it changes everything.	per m³	$170 – $330	96,754 FCFA – 193,507 FCFA	Estimated
Galvanised sheet (2.40 × 0.90 m)No Benin price found, and the band that results contradicts the one this product carries for Côte d’Ivoire. The only usable figures are Abidjan’s: a factory-direct offer at 1,900 FCFA for a corrugated aluzinc sheet, and a price guide dated 20 July 2026 giving 3,700 FCFA at 4/10 mm, 4,300 at 5/10 and up to 5,500 at 6/10 a sheet. Brought to the 2.40 × 0.90 m sheet this line prices and carried across to Cotonou, that is 6 to 14 USD. The Ivorian pack holds 12 to 22 USD for the same sheet with no published figure behind it: that is the line to re-check, not this one. Always state the thickness: between 0.20 and 0.35 mm the price doubles and so does the life.	per sheet	$6 – $14	3,518 FCFA – 8,209 FCFA	Estimated
Fibre-cement corrugated sheetFibre-cement sheet, dimensions to be confirmed with the seller: with no length and no width, a price per sheet never becomes a price per m². No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	per sheet	$9 – $16	5,277 FCFA – 9,382 FCFA	Estimated
Roof tileConcrete or clay tile, uncommon outside the top of the market, where it serves mostly as an outward sign. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	each	$1 – $2	410 FCFA – 938 FCFA	Estimated
Floor tilingTile imported, mostly from China and Spain, through the port of Cotonou. The band is wide because it covers everything from the cheapest to porcelain: it is the finishing item where the gap between two quotations says most about what was actually priced.	per m²	$7 – $26	4,105 FCFA – 15,246 FCFA	Estimated
Tile adhesive (25 kg bag)Imported or locally formulated adhesive. Confirm the bag weight, 25 kg being assumed here: that is the usual sticking point on this line. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	per bag	$5 – $12	2,932 FCFA – 7,037 FCFA	Estimated
Tile groutImported product, sold in bags of 1 to 5 kg according to the make. Confirm the packaging before turning it into a price per kg. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	per kg	$2 – $4	880 FCFA – 2,052 FCFA	Estimated
Acrylic paint (20 L tin)Mostly imported, with a small local formulating trade. Confirm the drum volume: paint is sold by the bucket without the volume being stated, and a price per bucket becomes a price per m² only once the litres and the spreading rate are known.	per tin	$31 – $72	18,178 FCFA – 42,220 FCFA	Estimated
Polythene damp-proof membrane (300 µm)Imported sheet by the roll. EN 13967 is a product standard: it binds the supplier, not the site. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	per m²	$1 – $1	293 FCFA – 704 FCFA	Estimated
Damp-proof course roll (23 cm)Imported bituminous roll, EN 14967. Essential on the lagoon spit where the water table is high. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	per linear metre	$1 – $2	528 FCFA – 1,349 FCFA	Estimated
SBS bitumen membrane 4 mmImported membrane, EN 13707. Torch-applied, labour not included in this price. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	per m²	$8 – $16	4,691 FCFA – 9,382 FCFA	Estimated
Liquid waterproofing (per coat)Imported or locally formulated resin. Two coats at least, which the measurement counts separately. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	per m² per coat	$2 – $5	1,173 FCFA – 2,932 FCFA	Estimated
Cementitious tanking slurry, per kgImported water-resistant mortar, EN 14891, for wet rooms and light tanking. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	per kg	$2 – $4	1,173 FCFA – 2,580 FCFA	Estimated
PVC ceiling panellingSold by the board or the pack and never by the m²: confirm the board dimensions and how many are in a pack. It is the most-fitted ceiling in the sub-region. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	per m²	$5 – $12	2,932 FCFA – 7,037 FCFA	Estimated
Plasterboard 12.5 mmImported board, grid included. Poorly suited to wet rooms without a moisture-resistant board, which is rarely observed. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	per m²	$7 – $17	4,105 FCFA – 9,969 FCFA	Estimated
SkirtingSkirting in tile or PVC. Always laid and almost never measured, which is exactly why it has a line here. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	per metre	$3 – $8	1,466 FCFA – 4,691 FCFA	Estimated
Metal door with frameDoor from a local workshop, folded sheet on a frame. State whether the price covers the frame, the lock and the fitting: three answers circulate in this market and the spread between them is wider than the spread between workshops. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	per door	$70 – $190	41,047 FCFA – 111,413 FCFA	Estimated
Timber door with frameFlush panel or solid timber: two products, two prices, and the same word at the joiner’s. Establish which before comparing. Solid here is more often local teak than imported stock, which pulls the top of the band down against the Sahelian markets.	per door	$38 – $140	22,283 FCFA – 82,094 FCFA	Estimated
Glazed aluminium windowLocal workshop joinery from imported sections, glazing and fitting included. Aluminium dominates new coastal building by a distance: it does not move with the damp, which timber does here all year.	per m²	$82 – $190	48,084 FCFA – 108,481 FCFA	Estimated
Louvre (naco) windowThe ordinary window of southern Benin: it ventilates continuously, which counts on a coast that is hot and humid all year and where still air makes mould. In the north the logic reverses in the dry season, when the harmattan carries dust.	per m²	$30 – $70	17,592 FCFA – 41,047 FCFA	Estimated
Burglar barIronwork from a local workshop, per m² of opening protected. Fitted to virtually every ground-floor opening. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	per m²	$24 – $65	14,073 FCFA – 38,115 FCFA	Estimated
Stair balustradeIronwork or timber. EN 1991-1-1 §6.4 gives it a horizontal load: it is a structural element and not a finish, which is the reason this line exists. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	per metre	$38 – $140	22,283 FCFA – 82,094 FCFA	Estimated
GutterFolded sheet or PVC, sized to EN 12056-3 at the local rainfall intensity. Southern Benin takes about 1,300 mm a year in two rainy seasons, the long one from April to July and the short one in September and October: it is the peak of the long season that sizes the gutter, not the annual total. The north has one season but heavier storms, which gives peaks of the same order on a smaller total.	per metre	$6 – $16	3,518 FCFA – 9,382 FCFA	Estimated
Rainwater downpipeImported ø 100 PVC, clips and bends included. The diameter follows the flow calculation, not the seller’s catalogue. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	per metre	$4 – $12	2,346 FCFA – 7,037 FCFA	Estimated
Supply pipework (PPR ø 25)Imported PPR, fittings included and fitting excluded: the data layer counts fitting with the other trades. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	per metre	$2 – $6	1,173 FCFA – 3,225 FCFA	Estimated
Waste pipework (PVC ø 110)Imported ø 110 PVC, fittings included. The metres of waste pipe are what a per-point price leaves out, since it pays only for the fixtures. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	per metre	$4 – $10	2,052 FCFA – 5,864 FCFA	Estimated
Plumbing point (WC + basin)Fitted point, fixtures included. State whether the labour is inside it: the data layer counts labour separately, and an all-in price entered as it stands would pay the plumber twice. No Benin figure obtained: the Ivorian band brought to the Benin labourer’s wage, a factor of 0.70. This is a trade’s time rather than imported goods, so it follows the wage and not the freight.	per point	$110 – $160	61,571 FCFA – 94,408 FCFA	Estimated
Sanitary ware (WC, basin, taps)Imported suite, from the cheapest Chinese to European sanitaryware. The band is wide because the market is. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	per set	$100 – $340	58,639 FCFA – 199,371 FCFA	Estimated
Electrical point (socket or light)Fitted point, wiring included. The same caution as the plumbing about labour: it is counted elsewhere in the data layer. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	per point	$8 – $13	4,691 FCFA – 7,623 FCFA	Estimated
Distribution board, per wayIEC 60364-4-41 requires automatic disconnection of supply, so it requires the protective devices. State whether the 30 mA residual current device is inside the price of the way. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	per way	$12 – $34	7,037 FCFA – 19,937 FCFA	Estimated
Earth electrodeIEC 60364-5-54. It is the line most often absent from a house, and without it the residual current device has nothing to work against. The Cotonou sand bar gives a high earth resistance in the dry season: a bentonite-filled pit is often needed there, and that is what makes the top of the band.	per installation	$45 – $140	26,387 FCFA – 82,094 FCFA	Estimated
Supply cable (4 × 10 mm²)It follows the copper price, so it is to be re-checked more often than the rest of the pack. State whether it is armoured: the gap between the two is of the same order as the gap between suppliers. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	per metre	$5 – $13	2,932 FCFA – 7,623 FCFA	Estimated
Storage tank, per litreImported polyethylene tank, 1,000 to 10,000 L. The price per litre falls markedly with capacity. Essential here: SONEB pressure drops during the day across parts of Cotonou and Abomey-Calavi, and a raised tank is the ordinary answer.	per litre	$0 – $0	47 FCFA – 152 FCFA	Estimated
Submersible pumpImported pump. The rating follows the designWater calculation: head, drawdown and tower included, not the catalogue. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	each	$150 – $600	87,958 FCFA – 351,832 FCFA	Estimated
Tank tower, per metre of heightSteel tower from a local workshop. The height is what makes the pressure at the tap, which is the only reason to pay for it. No Benin figure obtained: the Ivorian band brought to the Benin labourer’s wage, a factor of 0.70. This is a trade’s time rather than imported goods, so it follows the wage and not the freight.	per metre	$70 – $240	41,047 FCFA – 139,560 FCFA	Estimated
Electric water heater, per litreImported storage heater, 50 to 200 L, sold by the cylinder and not by the litre: the price per litre is our conversion, to be confirmed capacity by capacity. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	per litre of capacity	$1 – $4	762 FCFA – 2,052 FCFA	Estimated
Solar water heater, per litreImported thermosiphon. A middling yield on the coast, where cloud cover is heavy for much of the year, and markedly better in the Borgou and the Atacora in the dry season. And the real case for it is weak on the coast: mains water already comes out warm.	per litre of capacity	$3 – $9	1,759 FCFA – 5,277 FCFA	Estimated
Instantaneous gas water heaterImported appliance, sold by flow rate in L/min. Butane is widely distributed and subsidised, which makes this commoner than elsewhere. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	each	$100 – $300	58,639 FCFA – 175,916 FCFA	Estimated
Generator, per kVAFrom a Chinese set to a European one, imported through Cotonou. Slightly above the Ivorian level: the Benin market is thinner, so there is less competition between importers, and the Benin grid still depends heavily on imported power, which makes standby less optional than in Abidjan.	per kVA	$200 – $1,300	117,277 FCFA – 762,302 FCFA	Estimated
Solar PV, per WpPanel, inverter and fitting. The module has fallen a long way, the rest of the installation has not: fitting makes the price, and installers are few outside Cotonou. The resource is markedly better in the north than in the south, which the price does not reflect and the yield does.	per Wp	$1 – $2	481 FCFA – 909 FCFA	Estimated
Battery, per nominal kWhFrom flooded lead-acid to lithium. The depth of discharge changes the sizing more than the price does: a lead battery sized on the raw demand is flattened within a season. No Benin figure obtained: the band is the Ivorian one, carried across unchanged on the shared currency, the UEMOA common external tariff and a Gulf of Guinea port of the same kind. Replace it with a Cotonou merchant’s price.	per kWh	$160 – $400	93,822 FCFA – 234,554 FCFA	Estimated
Hand-drilled borehole, per metre (to 40 m)No Benin driller’s rate obtained. The water table is very high on the Cotonou sand bar, so an auger is often enough in the south: it is the market in this product where hand drilling goes furthest. It is brackish near the shore, though, so a shallow hole does not necessarily give drinkable water. In the north, on the basement rock, an auger will not go through.	per metre	$55 – $120	32,251 FCFA – 70,366 FCFA	Estimated
Rig-drilled borehole, per metre (beyond 40 m)The same caution as the hand-drilling line. The hand-to-machine ratio is taken from the UNICEF/pS-Eau guide for West Africa. In the south the rig is often unnecessary; in the north, on the Borgou and Atacora basement, it is the only option.	per metre	$130 – $300	76,230 FCFA – 175,916 FCFA	Estimated
LabourerThe floor is the legal minimum, calculated rather than approximated: decree 2022-692 of 7 December 2022 raises the SMIG to 52,000 FCFA a month from 1 January 2023, on a legal week of 40 hours. That is 300 FCFA an hour, 2,400 FCFA for an eight-hour day, USD 4.00 at 600 XOF/USD. The top is the observed rate: a site labourer in Cotonou is normally paid above the minimum, around 4,000 FCFA a day. The Benin SMIG itself is not clean: sources dated 2026 still quote 40,000 FCFA (the 2014 level) and others 55,000: the decree is what is taken here, not the summaries.	per day	$4 – $7	2,346 FCFA – 3,929 FCFA	Derived
MasonNo published Cotonou site rate. The closest figure is a survey of Benin artisans’ pay dated 23 April 2026, which puts building trades (mason, plumber, electrician) at around 200,000 FCFA a month on average, with a certified, experienced Cotonou artisan reaching 500,000. Over 26 working days that is about 7,700 FCFA a day, and the lower half of the artisan range brings it back towards 5,000. This is a monthly income divided down, not a quoted site rate: it carries neither the gang-leader’s premium nor piecework by the m², which is how a good deal of Cotonou masonry is actually paid.	per day	$8 – $15	4,867 FCFA – 8,796 FCFA	Estimated
Carpenter / formworkerThe same grade as the mason. The formworker mostly works the slab: the roof terrace is common in new Cotonou building, and timber roof carpentry is receding as local teak goes to export rather than to site.	per day	$8 – $15	4,867 FCFA – 8,796 FCFA	Estimated
SteelfixerThe same grade as the mason. Steel being entirely imported and dear, steelfixing is the item where a take-off error costs quickest: it is also the one where the temptation to drop a diameter is strongest.	per day	$8 – $15	4,867 FCFA – 8,796 FCFA	Estimated
ElectricianAbove the mason: a regulated trade, personal tools, and work that is expensive to put right when it is done badly.	per day	$10 – $18	5,864 FCFA – 10,262 FCFA	Estimated
PlumberThe same grade as the electrician: a skilled trade, and an expensive one to put right when a leak appears in finished work.	per day	$10 – $18	5,864 FCFA – 10,262 FCFA	Estimated
PainterBetween the labourer and the mason: the movement is learned quickly but the finish shows, so the rate sits above the labourer.	per day	$6 – $11	3,401 FCFA – 6,450 FCFA	Estimated
TilerThe same grade as the mason: the difficulty is in the setting out and the flatness, not in the strength.	per day	$8 – $15	4,867 FCFA – 8,796 FCFA	Estimated
Site foremanSupervision, about twice a mason. It is the item the productivity factor moves most: without one, labour costs 35% more in days.	per day	$17 – $29	9,675 FCFA – 17,005 FCFA	Estimated

Importing: what the border adds

A foreign invoice gets compared against a delivered local price while carrying none of the charges that get it to the same place. Enter your supplier’s CIF quotation: duty, the agency levies and VAT are added in the order the administration applies them.

MaterialSupplier’s CIF quotationper tonneClaim the reduced VAT rate (1%)Cement inputs and materials for public infrastructure.

With no quotation entered, the local price stands in as a worked example.

CIF value (before the border)	$830
Customs duty (10%)	+ $83
Maritime freight levy	+ $48
Import quality inspection	+ $17
Industrial Promotion Fund	+ $17
Clearing agent and file charges	+ $25
VAT (16%)	+ $150
Landed cost, charges included	$1,150

Once cleared, importing costs more than the local market.

Landed cost, charges included: $1,150 · Local market: $830

Total charges on the CIF value: 40% · Industrial inputs

Assigning a material to a duty band is an interpretation: the rate follows the HS code your agent declares, and agents differ. The rates and the VAT are sourced; the split between agencies is our apportionment of a sourced total.

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Importing: what the border adds

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