Economic Guide


Dordogne

The four traditional piles of the economy in Dordogne are as follows :

-           Agriculture and food processing
-           Social and sanitary
-           Craft industry and building construction
-           Manpower industries.

Altogether, there are more than 35 000 companies, shops and industries employing more than 85 000 persons.

Furthermore, Dordogne is continually developing three sectors with rapid growth such as :

-           trade and services
-           tourism due to dynamism of food processing, restaurants and art craft
-           business linked to re-build properties.

Investments  for roads and highways allow settlement of easily accessible industrial zones in order to attract new business. Finally the development of the airlines Bergerac London have a tremendous economic impact on the region.

The agricultural sector counts roughly 20 000 persons over 12 000 farms. It is as various as the soils, the relieves and the places where it has developed. The main productions are as follows :

-           Cereals (to feed livestock and poultry) : beef, calf, lamb, duck, pork
-           Oleaginous plants
-           Market gardening (vegetables and fruits) : Strawberries, Nuts, Truffles
-           Tobacco
-           Vineyards

Today, Dordogne comes out as :

-           1^st French department for truffle trees and countryside tourism
-           2^nd French department for strawberries, tobacco, nuts and geese for foie gras
-           3^rd French department for calves, forests, prunes and chestnuts
-           4^th French department for the production of ducks for foie gras
-           5^th French department for hazelnuts

The wood-forest industry in Périgord plays a major economical role in Dordogne. The manufactured wood is meant for flooring, panelling, jinery, timberwood pallets making. It counts over 150 companies with roughly 2250 employees.

The cultivation of tobacco goes back several centuries. Based on traditional skills, the tobacco industry nevertheless remains sensitive to scientific, technological and technical advances. The cultivation of tobacco in Perigord is rooted in the local economy and culture.

Bergerac wine – “Montravel”, “Monbazillac”, Rosette”, Saussignac”, “Bergerac” – 600 000 hectolitres of fine, strong generous wines grown on well known soils are coming out from Bergerac cellars.

Factories are found on the banks of the Dordogne, paper has been a long standing tradition here (Ahlstsrom Packaging, Polyrey, Dumas) but there are chemicals too (SNPE AND Bergerac NC) and a metallurgical industry. Other companies have developed in precision mechanics and electronics. Fine chemistry, biochemistry, the plastics industry and paper are the paths in full development today.

Craft industry represents an economical strength and a major social partner in the department. Over 8 400 craft industries takes part in the economic, social and cultural life.

Tourist industry

The Dordogne welcomes more than 2 million tourists each year and counts for 25 % of the department economy.