The Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Trade Office of Vietnam in Algeria concurrently with Senegal today announced that Vietnamese businesses are having big opportunity to export rice to this potential market.
According to the Vietnam Trade Office in Algeria, which is concurrently in charge of Senegal, this market consumes a lot of rice with an import volume of 900,000 to one million tons, mainly low-cost 100 percent- broken rice.
In 2023, Vietnam's rice exports to this market reached 12,392 tons, with a turnover of $5.35 million, an increase of 215 percent. In the first 2 months of this year, data from the Vietnam Customs shows that Vietnam exported 414 tons of rice to Senegal, with a turnover of 307,820.
While the rice supply is scarce and Senegal is preparing for the presidential election in 2024, the country will likely increase imports of broken rice from Asian countries. In March 2023, India allowed private businesses to export 250,000 tons of broken rice to Senegal.
This decision is seen as India's move to support some West African countries even though the country has issued a ban on the export of 100 percent broken rice and imposed 20 percent tax rate on the export of other types of rice since September 2022.
During the World Trade Organization (WTO)’s meeting to discuss the agriculture issue in February 2024, Senegal's Trade Minister had a discussion with his Cambodian counterpart about importing rice from the Southeast Asian country to diversify supply sources.
Since 1995, Senegal has eliminated state companies' monopoly on rice imports and completely liberalized the import of this food. For many years, the Government of Senegal has implemented a policy of developing wet rice cultivation to ensure its food self-sufficiency, but only 25-30 percent of the domestic demand can be met.
Senegal's Statistics Center said that the country imported 1.3 million tons of rice in 2023 with a turnover of more than $500 million, down 12.4 percent in volume and nearly 13 percent in value compared to 2022. The main suppliers include India, Thailand, China, Pakistan, Uruguay, and Vietnam.
In addition to satisfying the domestic demand for rice for more than 18 million people, Senegal also imports rice to re-export to neighboring countries.
