The main economic basis of the empire of Mali was derived from the agricultural production of the rural areas. However, the main economic activity that has been preserved in the record is of gold production. What accounts for this disparity?

Although traditional agricultural practices were and are still probably the most important economic activity of Mali, they are not able to produce on a large scale to be able to export.

On the other hand, gold is something that most foreign companies and governments want, so the rulers of Mali engaged in gold trade. Since writing was not common in local communities in Mali, a lot of the records and history of Mali was done by foreigners and their main interest was gold.