Third African producer of peanuts after Nigeria and Sudan, Senegal decided in mid-November to suspend the export of its peanuts to promote the local processing of Senegalese peanuts, a measure which is causing a stir in the sector.
Export or protect? This is the peanut dilemma in Senegal. For a long time, this little nut which supports 3 million farmers and 27% of households has been one of the country's main export products. To the point that in recent years, access to seeds has fueled tensions within the sector: local oil producers and refiners coming to lack of raw material. Particularly after an agreement signed between the Chine and the Senegal in 2014.
It is therefore to favor local processors and ensure that they have enough peanuts that, at the end of October, the authorities decided to suspend exports. A first. In exchange, the State set a purchase price 9% higher than last year: 305 CFA francs per kilogram instead of 280 CFA francs in 2023.
For small producers and oil producers, this is a good measure. The price is secure and higher than before. The country's main oil producer, Sonacos, for its part, has relaunched two processing units, one in Louga, in the north, which has been shut down for two years, and the other in Ziguinchor, in the south of the country. . With its four other factories, Sonacos promises to transform 300,000 tonnes of peanuts into edible oil and create 7,000 jobs this year. It is ” a start », Analyzes a specialist in the sector after years where processing plants were almost at a standstill. To compare, in 2023, Sonacos processed 12,000 tonnes of peanuts, 22,000 tonnes the year before.
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305 CFA francs, an insufficient price for large peanut producers
But on the side of large producers, we are gnashing our teeth. And we highlight the higher prices at which exporters bought their peanuts for up to 500 CFA francs per kilogram last year. Some threaten not to sell their peanuts to local factories.
Finally, out of the million and a half tonnes of peanuts produced each year, Sonacos and its three private competitors can only absorb a maximum of 500,000 tonnes. What will happen to the rest of the peanuts?
Facing the sector's concernthe Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Livestock, Mabouba Diagne, relaxed the measures at the end of November. The authorities have promised that once Senegalese oil producers are supplied, the remaining peanuts can be exported.
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