Africa-Press – Cape verde. The National Statistics Institute (INE) released today the provisional data on Foreign Trade, revealing that, while imports registered a fall of 8.5%, exports increased by 16.4% in the 3rd quarter of 2024, compared to the same period of the previous year.
According to the results released by INE, exports totaled 1,724 thousand contos, representing an increase of 242 thousand contos (16.4%) compared to the previous year.
The results released by INE indicated that Europe remained the main destination for exports, absorbing 97.1% of the total. Spain leads the ranking of Cape Verde’s main customers in the European economic zone, representing 74.3% in the 3rd quarter of 2024, having increased by 14.6 p.p. compared to the same quarter of 2023.
Italy ranks second in the export structure, with 11.6%, decreasing by 9.9 p.p. compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Furthermore, in the period under analysis, Portugal, in third place, recorded a decrease of 0.4 p.p. (11.3% to 10.9%), and the United States, in fourth position, also recorded a decrease of 0.8 p.p..
In the same period, imports totaled 45,000 thousand contos, a reduction of 4,177 thousand contos (-8.5%) compared to the 3rd quarter of 2023. The European continent continued to be Cape Verde’s main supplier, with 62.8% of total imports, an increase compared to 56.7% in the same period of the previous year. Portugal stood out as the largest supplier, with 36.7% of the total, followed by Spain (10.5%) and India (9.2%).
Among the exported products, prepared and preserved fish led the way, accounting for 82.7% of total exports and registering an increase of 4.4 p.p. compared to 2023. Clothing with 6.6% and footwear with 3.6% were the other most exported products, both with increases in their share.
With regard to imports by broad categories of goods, fuels accounted for 44.0% of total imports, followed by motor vehicles (4.6%), reactors and boilers (4.5%), machinery and engines (3.8%) and iron and ironworks (2.8%). Imports of consumer goods and intermediate goods registered growth of 3.5% and 11.7%, respectively, while those of capital goods and fuels decreased by 54.0% and 4.2%.
The trade balance recorded a reduction in the deficit of 9.3%, going from 47,696 thousand contos in 2023 to 43,276 thousand contos in 2024. The coverage rate increased from 3.0% to 3.8%, showing an improvement in the relationship between exports and imports.
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