Portugal as a market for fresh agricultural products from Guinea-Bissau : final report

While it might seem that Portugal is a natural market for its former African colony, the Portuguese market for fruits and vegetables is in fact relatively small and is well served by its own domestic production, by its neighbor, Spain, other European countries, and by Israel, South Africa, Brazil, and Venezuela. These last four countries have tremendous advantages over Guinea-Bissau in the use of modern management techniques for production, harvesting, handling, shipping, and marketing. Nonetheless, there are opportunities for Guinea-Bissau in the Portuguese market. Guinea-Bissau"s most important advantage is the high quality of its produce, particularly its pineapples, mangoes, melons, and papayas. In addition, Guinea-Bissau"s produce is cheaper at its source than that from other countries, principally because the country"s labor costs are low; it is close to Europe and can ship directly by sea; and its produce can be grown in open fields during the European off-season. Included are product selection criteria for Guinea-Bissau exporters as well as recommended marketing strategies. Tables on exports and imports of major fruit and vegetable commodities are appended.