Cabo Verde and Guinea-Bissau
What moves each way, the scams to watch for, and what to check before you trade.
Trade safely with Guinea-Bissau
The scams, documents and rules that matter on this corridor. Written and reviewed by our team, and dated.
Corridor-specific scam patterns and rules are still being reviewed by our team and will appear here once published.
- Confirm the company exists in an official register and that its name matches the one on the invoice.
- Before paying into a new or changed bank account, phone the company on a number you already hold, not one from the invoice or email.
- Test the container number, ship number, ports and dates on the bill of lading with the Document checker.
- Be wary of paying in advance for goods you have not seen, or of fees demanded to release a shipment.
- Ask the carrier directly to confirm the shipment exists and where it is.
In 2023, Cabo Verde sold Guinea-Bissau about $20 thousand of goods. The biggest products were organic surface-active agents, ceramic sinks, wash basins and hair preparations, for use on the hair, which together make up 82% of the total. The total has fallen by about 99% a year since 2022.
In 2024, Cabo Verde bought about $95 thousand of goods from Guinea-Bissau. The biggest products were nuts, ground-nuts, not roasted or otherwise cooked and palm oil and its fractions, which together make up 83% of the total. More than half of this trade is one product (nuts), so it leans heavily on that one line. The total has fallen by about 18% a year since 2022. Among the leading products, sauces and preparations therefor is growing fastest, at about 105% a year.
Trade by year
Total trade each year, as reported in the tables below. A missing bar means no report for that year, not zero trade.
View as a table
| Year | Cabo Verde sells to Guinea-Bissau | Cabo Verde buys from Guinea-Bissau |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | $1.4m | $144k |
| 2023 | $20k | $101k |
| 2024 | not reported | $95k |
What Cabo Verde sells to Guinea-Bissau
Ranked by value in 2023, by 4-digit product code. Growth is the yearly rate since 2022.
| Product | Value | Share | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Organic surface-active agents (not soap) (surface-active, washing (including auxiliary washing) and cleaning p… Product code 3402 · Soap and cleaning products | $9k | 44.5% | n/a |
| Ceramic sinks, wash basins, wash basin pedestals, baths, bidets, water closet pans, flushing cisterns, urinals… Product code 6910 · Ceramics | $4k | 18.8% | n/a |
| Hair preparations (for use on the hair) Product code 3305 · Cosmetics and perfumery | $4k | 18.3% | n/a |
Biggest product groups: Soap and cleaning products (47%), Ceramics (19%), Cosmetics and perfumery (18%), Furniture and bedding (11%), Electrical equipment (5%) .
What Cabo Verde buys from Guinea-Bissau
Ranked by value in 2024, by 4-digit product code. Growth is the yearly rate since 2022.
| Product | Value | Share | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuts (excluding coconuts, Brazils and cashew nuts) (fresh or dried, whether or not shelled or peeled) Product code 0802 · Fruit and nuts | $48k | 50.7% | +6.4% a year |
| Ground-nuts (not roasted or otherwise cooked, whether or not shelled or broken) Product code 1202 · Oil seeds and grains | $22k | 22.9% | -9.0% a year |
| Palm oil and its fractions (whether or not refined, but not chemically modified) Product code 1511 · Fats and oils | $9k | 9.1% | +0.9% a year |
Biggest product groups: Fruit and nuts (51%), Oil seeds and grains (23%), Fats and oils (9%), Miscellaneous food preparations (7%), Ships and boats (5%) .
A free account shows the complete product lists, every fast-growing and new product, and the markets where this corridor supplies little. Accounts are checked by hand, so use your business email.
Create a free account Sign inHow to read these figures
Value is what was traded in the year, in US dollars. A big number means a big market, not necessarily an easy one to enter.
Share is that product's part of the total in the table above. A product with a large share is what this corridor already trades most of.
Growth is the average yearly change since the first year shown. A green figure means trade in that product is rising.
Product code is the international customs code (HS) for the product group. Your customs agent and the guide below will ask for it, and it decides the duty you pay.
These are totals reported by customs authorities, not prices or orders. Use them to see where demand exists, then check the rules and the company you plan to deal with.
Next steps
Trade figures are what each country reported to the UN (Comtrade), in US dollars. Imports are usually reported including freight and insurance, exports without, so the two sides of a corridor will not match exactly. Company counts are companies listed on ExporterIQ.