Driven by gold and hydrocarbons, Senegalese exports showed significant growth (+7.8%) at the beginning of 2026, in a context marked by a decline in imports, a recovery in industrial activity, and generally contained inflation.
Senegal’s exports registered a 7.8% year-on-year increase in January 2026, reaching 412.6 billion CFA francs, according to the monthly bulletin of the National Agency for Statistics and Demography (ANSD) published on Wednesday, April 15.
This growth was primarily driven by sales of crude oil (+272.5%) and non-monetary gold (+93.0%).
Conversely, imports fell sharply by 34.4% over the same period, settling at 524.8 billion CFA francs, mainly due to a decrease in purchases of petroleum products and rice.
Industrial activity also showed a positive trend. The industrial production index, excluding cotton ginning, rose by 9.9% in January 2026, driven by strong performance in hydrocarbons (+13.4%), food processing (+14.6%), and metallurgical products (+20.5%).
In the energy sector, electricity sales increased by 16.7% year-on-year in December 2025, reaching 563,062 MWh and generating revenue of 76 billion FCFA (+21.4%). The average price per
kilowatt-hour was 135 FCFA, up 4%.
In the agricultural sector, the 2024/2025 season ended with a 15.6% contraction in overall cereal production. Peanut production fell by 24.8%, while cotton production increased by 7.5%.
Furthermore, business registrations in the NINEA (National Identification Number for Economic Agents) decreased by 18.5% in January 2026, totaling 7,091 new units, primarily due to a decline in sole proprietorships (-19.3%).
Regarding prices, inflation remained contained, with a 0.4% increase in the harmonized index of consumer prices in Dakar between January 2025 and January 2026. This trend reflects, in particular, a decrease in food prices (-0.5%), while prices rose in the transport (+0.7%) and housing (+0.4%) sectors.
In terms of public finances, tax revenues increased by 4.4% to reach 311.7 billion FCFA in January 2026. The money supply (M2) grew by 14.9% to 11,582 billion FCFA, while bank credit to the private sector increased by 10.4%. Finally, air transport saw a positive trend, with a 5.5% increase in passenger traffic at Blaise Diagne International Airport (AIBD), which recorded 279,091 passengers in January 2026.
Air freight, for its part, jumped by 33.9%, while maritime transport shipments increased by 80.7%.
AC/Sf/fss/as/APA