While Asian giants continue to dictate the rules of global maritime trade, a West African port commands respect. In San Pedro, the cranes don't sleep. Ships load and unload with an efficiency that has caught the attention of World Bank analysts; it is precisely the fluidity of these handling operations that has propelled the port into the African Top 10 of the Container Port Performance Index (CPPI) 2025. The figures speak for themselves. In fifteen years, global merchandise traffic at the port of San Pedro has increased from 1.23 million tonnes in 2010 to 7.77 million tonnes in 2025, an increase of 531%. A performance which owes nothing to chance, but results from sustained investments in port infrastructure and a rise in export sectors.

The port economy today relies on three main drivers. First, cocoa, San Pedro is the world's leading export port for this raw material, thus consolidating the leadership of Ivory Coast, the world's leading producer. Then, mining products (nickel, manganese, iron) come from the Ivorian hinterland and exported in increasing volumes. Finally, cement products complete this triptych, testifying to the progressive diversification of port flows. On the continent, the CPPI 2025 ranking remains dominated by Tanger Med (Morocco), which is close behind the major Asian hubs with a score of 134 points, and Port Said of Egypt with a score of 117 points. San Pedro nevertheless asserts itself as the second most efficient port in West Africa, with a score of -0.9, close to balance.

It must be said, with this ranking, San Pedro is no longer content with being the gateway to Ivorian cocoa, it establishes itself as a reference logistics node for the entire West African sub-region, the time when competition between continental port hubs continues to intensify.