Upvote:0
There may have been an indirect trade link.
During the Middle Ages, western Europe got "most" of its gold from what was then "Hungary, but some of it came from Africa, including Mali. So it is possible that European merchants back from a trip to Hungary traded some Hungarian products for Mali gold in their home country (or less likely the reverse, Malian goods for Hungarian gold). If there were any direct trade relations between the two countries, it would likely have been through such connections.
Upvote:5
Well, there was trade between the Mali Empire and the rest of the world via a Sahel camel-borne trade route established and run by the Berber tribes of that region. We know at least a few non-Berbers traveled that route as well as travelers or pilgrims, but all the direct trade would almost certainly be carried out by the Berbers, not Europeans.
The challenges that jump out at me about this story are:
A more likely story to my mind is simply that what you've listed were Hungary's typical imports and exports of the period. Sure, a lot of the gold it imported (did Hungary have a native industry of goldsmiths? I could see that) would have ultimately come from Mali, and stuff that Mali couldn't easily make itself might find its way back there as a really lucrative way to pay for that gold, but that doesn't mean Malians and Hungarians were directly exchanging those goods with each other.