The main import of the West African kingdoms was

gold.

salt.

food.

silk.

Salt. The main import of the West African kingdoms was salt. Even though the west African countries such as Ghana and Mali had rich and plentiful reserves of gold, they did not have any local supply of salt. They needed salt to survive and their trade in gold and salt turned these countries into major trading ports as Arab traders began trade with these countries. There were no local sources of salt and so they were heavily reliant on the traders to bring them the required amount of the mineral.