Cape Verde's domestic exports rose 11.8% from a year earlier to 2.64bn CVE (€23.9mn) in the third quarter of 2026, statistics agency INE said on November 3. Prepared and canned fish made up 64.6% of the total, down from 85.0% a year earlier. Meanwhile, postage stamps accounted for 21.7% and clothing for 4.8%. Spain bought 56.8% of exports, and re-exports rose 51.7% to 11.0bn CVE (€100mn), INE said.
Analysis: Canned fish exports fell about 15% to roughly 1.7bn CVE (€15.4mn), by our calculation, so the gain came from postage stamps worth about 572mn CVE (€5.2mn). INE gave no reason for either move. The fish share was 79.9% as recently as the second quarter. However, catches and cannery output vary by season, so one quarter does not make a trend. Canneries and the boat owners who supply them carry most of the risk, because fish still makes up nearly two-thirds of exports. INE's fourth-quarter trade release, expected around early February, should show whether fish sales recover.
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estatística (INE Cabo Verde), INE press release, external trade statistics, third quarter 2026 (November 3, 2026), Q3 2026 and Q3 2025; Instituto Nacional de Estatística (INE Cabo Verde), INE, Nota de imprensa Estatísticas do Comércio Externo - 2º trimestre 2026, Q2 2026