Traffic from Cardigan to Bristol, as well as to other English ports, increased considerably in the second half of the 17th century. The main export was corn which had been produced on local farms. Indeed, there were strong ties between the agricultural communities and the port.

Many of the ships were owned by groups of local farmers who imported lime for fertilising their crops and culm for fires, and exported their own produce to other parts of Wales and England.

Sources:
W. J. Lewis, Gateway to Wales: A History of Cardigan (Carmarthen, 1990)
J. Geraint Jenkins, Maritime Heritage: The Ships and Seamen of Southern Ceredigion (Llandysul, 1982)