The Port of San-Pédro is the economic reason the city exists. Built in the 1970s as a planned deep-water harbour capable of handling bulk cargo, it transformed what was a small fishing settlement into Ivory Coast's second-largest port. Today it exports cocoa, timber, rubber, and palm oil — commodities drawn from the forests and plantations of the surrounding southwest region.
Visiting the port itself requires some permission, but the fishing harbour section is more accessible and worth a look in the early morning when the pirogues are bringing in their catches. The contrast between the industrial scale of the commercial port and the traditional wooden fishing boats is striking. The port area also has a handful of maquis — basic open-air restaurants — that serve working dockers and fishermen, and which offer some of the freshest fish in the city.