Cape Verde Import Prices Surge 8.2% Driven by Energy
Import prices in Cape Verde surged by 8.2% in April, a dramatic spike driven almost entirely by rising energy costs, according to the latest External Trade Price Index released by the National Institute of Statistics (INE).
Fuel Costs Drive Market Volatility
The 8.2% monthly jump marks a significant acceleration from March, when import prices rose by a marginal 0.3%. The INE identified fuel as the primary catalyst for this shift, noting that energy prices soared by 16.2% within a single month, placing heavy pressure on the nation’s trade balance.
Widening Gap Between Imports and Exports
While the cost of bringing goods into the country climbed sharply, export prices remained relatively stagnant. Cape Verdean exports saw a modest increase of just 0.3% in April, barely shifting from the 0.2% growth recorded in March.
This imbalance caused the nation’s “terms of trade”—a measure of export prices relative to import prices—to drop by 7.3%. A decline in this ratio suggests that the country is getting less value for its exports compared to what it must pay for essential imports.
A Year-on-Year Perspective
Despite the monthly surge, the long-term data shows a cooling trend compared to the previous year. On a year-on-year basis, import prices actually fell by 2.3%, while export prices decreased by 1.6%. These annual figures provided a slight 0.8% improvement in the terms of trade compared to the same period in 2025.
The External Trade Price Index is a vital economic health indicator for the archipelago, tracking the price fluctuations of all commercial exchanges between Cape Verde and its global trading partners.
Image: Pexels – Carlo Jünemann
