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Economic Conditions and Trade
Guinea-Bissau
Farmer harvesting peanuts in Bissau. Source: www.everyculture.com
One of the five poorest countries in the world, Guinea-Bissau depends mainly on
farming and fishing. Cashew crops have increased remarkably in recent years,
and the country now ranks fifth in cashew production. Guinea-Bissau exports fish
and seafood along with small amounts of peanuts, palm kernels, and timber. Rice
is the major crop and staple food.
Source: http://www.afribiz.info/
Economic Statistics
- Gross Domestic Product: (2009): $826 million.
- Annual growth rate: (2009): 3%.
- Gross Dosmestic Product per capita: (2009): $512.
- Natural resources: Fish and timber. Bauxite and phosphate deposits are
not exploited; offshore petroleum.
- Foreign aid: Guinea-Bissau is desperately poor, (ranked 173rd out of 182 )
with huge foreign debt and an economy that limps along thanks to foreign aid.
- Agriculture: (62% of GDP): Products--cashews, tropical fruits, rice, peanuts,
cotton, palm oil. Arable land--11%. Forested--38%.
- Industry: (12% of GDP): Cashew processing. Very little industrial capacity
remains following the 1998 internal conflict.
- Major suppliers: (2009)--Portugal 24.5%, Senegal 17.2%, Pakistan 4.8%,
France 4.6%.
Top Five Imports and Exports
Major Illicit Trade Types
1. Drug Trafficking:
An estimated 50 tons of illicit drugs, worth almost US$2 billion, pass through the region each year,
according to UN reports, which approximate that some 27% of the cocaine consumed annually in Europe
transits through West Africa.
2. Child Trafficking:
Child trafficking from Guinea-Bissau to Senegal is on the decline, partly due to better collaboration among
local residents, civil society groups and government.
3. Bush Meat sales:
Unsustainable levels of bushmeat hunting could threaten both wildlife populations and the people who
depend on bushmeat for food or income.
The Future of Guinea-Bissau
Future of Guinea-Bissau depends on how it handles challenges like drug and child
trafficking, large-scale poverty, corruption and heavy external debt. Fishing as an industry
can propel Guinea-Bissau’s economy, but illegal fishing poses a few problems for that sector.
Source: www.afribiz.info/
Comments (5)
Annette Diniz said
at 9:27 am on Feb 2, 2011
Does the heavy external debt come from their imports from other countries or borrowing?
Joe said
at 11:29 am on Feb 2, 2011
Yes, Guinea Bissau relies on imports from other countries due to a poor economy that relies on a narrow selection of exports such as cashews, shrimp and sawn lumber. There is little economic infrastructure emerging because Bissau was essentially decapitalized for 10 years during a civil war from late 1980's.
Joe said
at 11:30 am on Feb 2, 2011
Here's a great link to the economic and historical understanding of Guinea-Bissau:
http://fic.wharton.upenn.edu/fic/africa/Guinea-Bissau%20Final.pdf
Shellar said
at 10:41 am on Feb 2, 2011
It would also be interesting to see how much a family earns a year to see with how much do they survive....(example: american families spend a week in food more or less $350..while in Chad $1.32)
SfWhitehorn@gmail.com said
at 6:22 pm on Feb 7, 2011
I appreciate this information as a segueway into drug trafficking and the overlaps of economic conditions of trade. Great presentation.
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