Country Information - Guinea Bissau

ECONOMIC BACKGROUND One of the 10 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 sixth 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. However, intermittent fighting between Senegalese-backed government troops and a military junta destroyed much of the country's infrastructure and caused widespread damage to the economy in 1998; the civil war led to a 28% drop in GDP that year, with partial recovery in 1999-2001. Before the war, trade reform and price liberalization were the most successful part of the country's structural adjustment program under IMF sponsorship. The tightening of monetary policy and the development of the private sector had also begun to reinvigorate the economy. Because of high costs, the development of petroleum, phosphate, and other mineral resources is not a near-term prospect. However, unexploited offshore oil reserves could provide much-needed revenue in the long run. The inequality of income distribution is one of the most extreme in the world. The government and international donors continue to work out plans to forward economic development. (Source: World Factbook, 2002) Click here for Country Map [23kB]

BI-LATERAL TRADE OVERVIEW Virtually no bi-lateral trade occurs between Guinea-Bissau and the United States. In fact, of all AGOA-eligible Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries, the country ranks last in terms of exports to the U.S. In 2002, imports equalled exports at a value of $ 2,6 million each (2001: $ 0.9 million). Although there has been an increase in trade with the US in 2002, Guinea Bissau does not currently benefit from AGOA. Detailed bilateral trade data for this country, disaggregated by industry sector, can be accessed by following the link below. Aggregate data featuring all AGOA-eligible countries is updated on this website as soon as new data is published, including ranked AGOA / non-AGOA trade, aggregate trade by industry sector as well as the latest apparel trade data. Click here for Detailed Trade Profile