Guinea-Bissau - Cashew and Beyond : Diversification Through Trade
2010
World Bank
Guinea-Bissau is highly dependent on international trade even when compared to other nations of its size and income level. However, it is equally clear that the country could derive far more benefit from its international trade opportunities than it does at the present time. This study examines how to do this, looking not only at trade policy, the investment climate, and infrastructure, but also five key sectors where specific opportunities exist. There are three recommendations which stand out as having a particularly important and pervasive effect on trade and its potential role in raising incomes and reducing poverty. Indeed, they can be regarded as preconditions for significant progress. It is of primary importance that the job of formulating and implementing economic policy be put on a more stable and long term basis The extreme instability in Guinea-Bissau's government has meant that cabinet ministers and lower officials change on an annual or even more frequent basis. This situation makes long term planning and sustained implementation virtually impossible and the formulation of coherent policy equally difficult. To these, one might add the illegal drug trade which can undermine the best economic policies through an escalation of crime, corruption and addiction, as already observed in some other countries. However, this important issue has not been addressed in this report.
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