According to Cheikh Ngane, President of the Federative Cooperative of Horticulture in Senegal, 20-30% of mango production is lost each year due to white fly attacks. Such a loss could be estimated to cost hundreds of million of CFA francs. Cheikh Ngane claims that out of the 90,000- 120,000 tons produced annually, only around 10,000 tons are exported and the rest is not commercialised and therefore lost because it is such a short season (3 months) and the rainy season follows.
Cheikh Ngane claims that in 2006, white flies caused an 80% loss of mango production within the South of the country and 70% loss in the Niayes zone. He believes that such losses are due to the fact that in the importing countries, notably the EU, if a product is contaminated, the whole cargo is deemed unsuitable for consumption.
Senegal exported a record 11,500 tons in 2013 and if the white fly doesn’t proliferate over the winter in the Niayes, 70,000 tons could be reached in 2014. Encouraged by the EU, the Cedeao has decided to finance a global plan to fight fruit flies.
Mour Guèye, Coordinator of the West African Agricultural Productivity Programme says that they aim to ''contribute to improving the agricultural productivity in sectors susceptible to the agricultural growth rate of 6%, through the development and diffusion of technologies in the national and regional sectors.’’