Le Dg de l’Arm révèle : «Pourquoi nous avons suspendu les importations de bananes»
This is a first. Senegal has decided to suspend banana imports. The decision was taken yesterday, September 1, by the Market Regulation Agency (ARM). The agency's Director General, Babacar Sembène, explains in this interview with Seneweb why this measure was taken.
Why did you decide to suspend banana imports from September 1 , 2025?
This measure follows the recommendations of the interministerial council held in April, on the 2025-2026 agricultural campaign. Among the various instructions received, there are policies to support sectors, with the aim of achieving food self-sufficiency. It is also in relation to the policy of import substitution by local production. For example, for onions, potatoes, rice, when you add up all these imports, we are approaching 1000 billion in food imports.
1000 billion?
Yes, 1,000 billion in food imports. Specifically, regarding bananas, this year's harvest forecasts are around 112,000 tons, with consumption needs estimated at 130,000 tons. So the gap to be filled is not significant. Regarding this banana production, there are peak harvest periods, between September, October, and November, when a good portion of the production, 70 to 80%, will be harvested. The Arm organized a field mission in the production areas that allowed us to see the developments in terms of production, the producers' capacities, and the difficulties these actors encounter, especially in the context of marketing.
We held other meetings here at the Arm with stakeholders, importers, traders, and distributor networks to share concerns and also the government's vision with the 2050 Agenda. So, all of this led us to take this pilot measure of suspending banana imports, which is a first for the sector.
What impact do you expect from this measure?
The impact is enormous. Already, it is estimated that 10,000 people are involved in the banana industry. Securing the market for this local production will have a positive impact on the income of these producers. Then there are the issues of job creation and the fight against poverty. Because if you manage to help producers based on their production, to earn money, to increase their capacity and their income, this alleviates the level of government intervention somewhat.
What about the consequences for the trade balance?
There's also the impact on the trade balance. Because every time we hear that Senegal's trade balance is in deficit, we're trying to work within the framework of local production to limit all these food imports.
Roughly speaking, at the macro level, we literally have this in terms of economic impact, in terms of wealth creation and also the impact on the trade balance.
And what were the levels of banana imports in figures?
On average, the figures we have are around 50,000 tonnes imported. The value is 16 billion CFA francs. So today, if we can reduce this quantity, it's still beneficial. There are many advantages to Senegal being self-sufficient, first in terms of production and consumption, and even later, reaching markets in the sub-region and internationally.
How is the regulation for potatoes, onions, etc.?
We work closely with the Ministry of Agriculture on the crop calendar, the harvest calendar, expected quantities, and harvest and consumption periods. From that point on, we at the ARM make estimates based on market needs. For onions, the calendar is between January and August-September. That's when we have our harvests. We stop imports altogether. Afterwards, we follow up regularly with the consultation frameworks. This monitoring is done throughout the entire campaign. This applies to onions, carrots, and potatoes.
What about producers who talk about their crops rotting due to lack of buyers?
The difficulty we often have with this regulation is that there is a time lag. The harvest rhythm is often not the same as the market rhythm. This is why producers often come forward to say that their products are rotting or that they have products they cannot sell. This is because there comes a time when, for example, between the peak harvest periods in March, April, and May, you have practically 75 or 80% of the harvests arriving in three months. This is why we are developing a logistics chain with storage and conservation infrastructure so that, when the harvests arrive and the market is not good, producers or traders can store and, depending on the state of the market, postpone marketing.
The other point is exports. We also support stakeholders, in addition to the local market, in exploring markets in the sub-region and the European Union. This year we exported a lot to Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Guinea, and even to Spain, where we exported about 5,000 tons of onions from Senegal. It's the same for potatoes, because a lot of storage infrastructure has been put in place. This allows for storage and deferral. Today, we still have potatoes in cold storage. Unlike onions, where we were forced to open up a little for Gamou, in terms of imports.
Interview by Youssouf SANE
Commentaires (26)
Il faut de la volonté et du courage.
Prendre des décisions qui ne feront pas plaisir à certains lobbies.
Le mot est lâché. Investir dans la logistique et les magasins de stockage.
Revoir ta façon de communiquer
Veiller à ce que cette mesure n’impacte pas sur le prix du marché qui est actuellement inférieur ou égal à 1000f
Veiller à ce qu’il n’y ait pas d’inflation ou de pénurie de banane
66 milliards pour une seule personne pendant que le pays est au quatrième sous-sol selon ses dires.
Il fait quoi avec tout cet argent (notre argent)?
Il y a quelqu'un qui demande s'il y a aussi l'autosuffisance en konkorong
Au Canada on ne produit pas de bananes mais c'est le fruit le moins cher ici
N'oubliez pas d'interdire l'importation de tout ce que nous avons dans nos hopitaux ( 100 %)
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