From May 30th to June 3rd, the government of Senegal in cooperation with US AID and Trade Africa organized the Regional Mango Alliance, an event for the mango sector of West Africa. Representatives of eight countries such as Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mali and Senegal itself attended this event with the purpose of identifying together the take-off levers of the value chain, based on its specific potentials, in logic of generating private investment and improving parts of export markets.
“Senegal has a production volume of 125,000 tons of mango per year. However, only 16,937 tons of this volume has been exported, while most of the annual volume isn’t exploited at all. One of the objectives of the US AID is to help Western African countries create added value for our mangoes. For instance, we could sell our mangoes processed into mango jam or in cosmetics,” says Elhadj Ibrahima Niasse.
The US AID has invested in a project that aims to increase the contribution of the mango sector in the socio-economic development of Senegal promoting poverty reduction. There is a total of $3 million, about 1.5 billion CFA francs, and was executed over a period of 3 years. It enabled the training or upgrading of over 1,000 farmers.
Fresh mangoes are considered a staple fruit in Senegal, but are seen as exotic on export markets like Europe and North-America. This means that while prices are fixed at origin, exported mangoes are sold for a much larger profit at the markets of destination. Should the mangoes however be processed into jam, canned fruit or cosmetics, the price difference between origin and export market would be a lot smaller.
“The government wants to stimulate the sector for the processing of mangoes. The plans for this are ambitious, but we do have the production to support this endeavor. What we need most is to convince local investors from the private sector to set up enterprises with regards to the processing of our fruit.”
“One of our main problems in Senegal is the lack of investors in regards to the low rate of processing in the mango sector. Our production is huge, but our export is low. We are however improving this situation. In 2012 we managed to export about 8,000 tons. This year we’re exporting over twice that amount,” says Niasse.
The African mango production lasts from March until September. The first country to go into production is the Ivory Coast in mid April, followed by other countries like Ghana and Mali. Senegal is the last country to start its season, from July to September.
“In Senegal, we’ve got a dry season that lasts for nine months, followed by the three months of the rainy season. Being the last of the West-African countries is an advantage, as our mangoes end up being the freshest available at that time. Our main varieties for export are the Keith and Kent mangoes, which are very much appreciated on the world market. Our mangoes are famous for being the sweetest in the world.”
Additional statistics in the mango Sector of Senegal:
- 125 000 tons in 2015
- 11% of the national horticultural production
- 50.7% of the fruits production
- 19% of the horticultural exports
- Most dynamic horticultural sector for exports
The main export market for mangoes from Senegal is Europe, in particular the Netherlands. Dutch companies that import mangoes resell them to the rest of Europe. “The demand for mangoes is growing. They are becoming more popular, both fresh and processed into products like yoghurt. A major factor in the rising trend of mango consumption is the attitude of consumers with regards to GMOs. They want their fruit to be natural and biological. Therefore, we try to avoid the use of GMOs as much as possible.”
According to Niasse, competition on the world market isn’t much of a problem. The West-African producing countries have their individual seasonal time slots during the season, while producing countries in the rest of the world are limited to Spain in Europe and Mexico and Brazil in South- and Central-America.
“Europe is still our major market. The Dutch market is important to us, as it provides us with a win/win-situation. In order to sell our products, we need to deal with both clients and trade agreements of certain countries. When the Netherlands buy our mangoes, it is being resold to the rest of Europe, like the UK or France. This means that we can still sell indirectly to these countries, while the negotiation process is pretty much taken care of,” explains Niasse.
“Spain isn’t that much of a problem as the Spanish season differs from ours. We’d also like to enter the North-American market. While this region is being supplied to by Mexico, we still believe there are opportunities over there as we grow different varieties. Apart from these regions, we also keep newcomers in mind.”
Senegal still needs more improvement in its mango sector. Apart from infrastructure, the lack of investors when it comes to the product processing, we could make improvements by providing more facilities for cooled storage and ripening. But Niasse is optimistic about the future. “We already have the necessary certifications. Exports in Europe have been multiplied by 20 in 16 campaigns with an annual rate of + 20%,” Niasse ended.
For more information:
Elhadj Ibrahima Niasse
ASEPEX (Senegalese Export Promotion Agency)
Tel 00221-33-869-2021
Email: iniasse@asepex.sn
“Senegal has a production volume of 125,000 tons of mango per year. However, only 16,937 tons of this volume has been exported, while most of the annual volume isn’t exploited at all. One of the objectives of the US AID is to help Western African countries create added value for our mangoes. For instance, we could sell our mangoes processed into mango jam or in cosmetics,” says Elhadj Ibrahima Niasse.
The US AID has invested in a project that aims to increase the contribution of the mango sector in the socio-economic development of Senegal promoting poverty reduction. There is a total of $3 million, about 1.5 billion CFA francs, and was executed over a period of 3 years. It enabled the training or upgrading of over 1,000 farmers.
Fresh mangoes are considered a staple fruit in Senegal, but are seen as exotic on export markets like Europe and North-America. This means that while prices are fixed at origin, exported mangoes are sold for a much larger profit at the markets of destination. Should the mangoes however be processed into jam, canned fruit or cosmetics, the price difference between origin and export market would be a lot smaller.
“The government wants to stimulate the sector for the processing of mangoes. The plans for this are ambitious, but we do have the production to support this endeavor. What we need most is to convince local investors from the private sector to set up enterprises with regards to the processing of our fruit.”
“One of our main problems in Senegal is the lack of investors in regards to the low rate of processing in the mango sector. Our production is huge, but our export is low. We are however improving this situation. In 2012 we managed to export about 8,000 tons. This year we’re exporting over twice that amount,” says Niasse.
The African mango production lasts from March until September. The first country to go into production is the Ivory Coast in mid April, followed by other countries like Ghana and Mali. Senegal is the last country to start its season, from July to September.
“In Senegal, we’ve got a dry season that lasts for nine months, followed by the three months of the rainy season. Being the last of the West-African countries is an advantage, as our mangoes end up being the freshest available at that time. Our main varieties for export are the Keith and Kent mangoes, which are very much appreciated on the world market. Our mangoes are famous for being the sweetest in the world.”
Additional statistics in the mango Sector of Senegal:
- 125 000 tons in 2015
- 11% of the national horticultural production
- 50.7% of the fruits production
- 19% of the horticultural exports
- Most dynamic horticultural sector for exports
The main export market for mangoes from Senegal is Europe, in particular the Netherlands. Dutch companies that import mangoes resell them to the rest of Europe. “The demand for mangoes is growing. They are becoming more popular, both fresh and processed into products like yoghurt. A major factor in the rising trend of mango consumption is the attitude of consumers with regards to GMOs. They want their fruit to be natural and biological. Therefore, we try to avoid the use of GMOs as much as possible.”
According to Niasse, competition on the world market isn’t much of a problem. The West-African producing countries have their individual seasonal time slots during the season, while producing countries in the rest of the world are limited to Spain in Europe and Mexico and Brazil in South- and Central-America.
“Europe is still our major market. The Dutch market is important to us, as it provides us with a win/win-situation. In order to sell our products, we need to deal with both clients and trade agreements of certain countries. When the Netherlands buy our mangoes, it is being resold to the rest of Europe, like the UK or France. This means that we can still sell indirectly to these countries, while the negotiation process is pretty much taken care of,” explains Niasse. “Spain isn’t that much of a problem as the Spanish season differs from ours. We’d also like to enter the North-American market. While this region is being supplied to by Mexico, we still believe there are opportunities over there as we grow different varieties. Apart from these regions, we also keep newcomers in mind.”
Senegal still needs more improvement in its mango sector. Apart from infrastructure, the lack of investors when it comes to the product processing, we could make improvements by providing more facilities for cooled storage and ripening. But Niasse is optimistic about the future. “We already have the necessary certifications. Exports in Europe have been multiplied by 20 in 16 campaigns with an annual rate of + 20%,” Niasse ended.
For more information:
Elhadj Ibrahima Niasse
ASEPEX (Senegalese Export Promotion Agency)
Tel 00221-33-869-2021
Email: iniasse@asepex.sn