Dredging at Bissau port is due to begin in October 2026, bringing the cashew export campaign to a close that month, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said on September 22, according to France's Treasury. At the project's launch on January 26, financier West African Development Bank (BOAD) had said work would be completed by summer 2026.
Analysis: BOAD expects dredging to reduce ships' average stay in Bissau to two days from five, cutting waiting costs for shipping lines and importers once the work is finished. But the planned October start falls after BOAD's original summer completion date. The completion date matters for the 2027 cashew campaign: this year's first nuts arrived in Bissau on April 15. Neither BOAD nor the ministry has issued a new completion date, leaving shipping companies uncertain about when faster port operations will begin. That uncertainty could complicate vessel bookings for exporters preparing next season's shipments.
Source: Banque Ouest Africaine de Développement, BOAD press release, Bissau, 26 Jan 2026, launch of Bissau port dredging works, After completion (planned summer 2026); International Monetary Fund, IMF Country Report No. 26/140, Eleventh Review under the ECF arrangement, Appendix I Letter of Intent, 2026 campaign; Direction générale du Trésor, Service économique régional d'Abidjan / SE Dakar, DG Trésor, Brèves économiques Afrique de l'Ouest n°644 (25 Sep 2026), citing Ministério do Comércio e Indústria, 2026 campaign to 22 Sep