Senegal recorded a trade surplus of 183.8 billion CFA francs ($306.3 million) in March 2026, thanks to a sharp increase in exports of crude oil, gold, and liquefied natural gas, according to statistics published by the ANSD on Wednesday.
Senegal’s goods exports rose sharply in March 2026, reaching 713.4 billion CFA francs (US$1.19 billion), compared to 453.1 billion CFA francs (US$755.2 million) the previous month, representing a 57.4% increase, according to data from the Monthly Bulletin of Foreign Trade Statistics published by the National Agency for Statistics and Demography (ANSD).
This performance was primarily driven by increased sales of crude oil, non-monetary gold, phosphoric acid, and liquefied natural gas (LNG), within a context of strengthening Senegalese energy exports.
Crude oil shipments reached 227.5 billion CFA francs ($379.2 million) in March, compared to 142.3 billion CFA francs ($237.2 million) in February.
Non-monetary gold sales also increased sharply, rising from 90.7 billion CFA francs ($151.2 million) to 162.9 billion CFA francs ($271.5 million) over the same period.
Phosphoric acid exports reached 55.3 billion CFA francs ($92.2 million) after a near-absence in February, while LNG exports totaled 30.7 billion CFA francs ($51.2 million), compared to 17.8 billion CFA francs ($29.7 million) a month earlier.
Year-on-year, Senegalese exports have increased by 73.3%. For the first quarter of 2026, their cumulative value reached 1,579.2 billion CFA francs (US$2.63 billion), an increase of 13.9% compared to the same period in 2025.
Switzerland and the Netherlands remain the main markets for Senegalese products, with 22.2% and 22.0% market share respectively, ahead of India (8.6%), Spain (7.9%), and Mali (7.8%).
At the same time, imports increased slightly by 3.2% to reach 529.6 billion CFA francs (US$882.7 million). This rise is mainly due to increased purchases of rice, wheat and mixed grains, as well as
fertilizers.
Rice imports rose from 13.2 billion CFA francs (US$22.0 million) in February to 37.6 billion CFA francs (US$62.7 million) in March, while wheat and meslin imports jumped from 3.2 billion CFA francs (US$5.3 million) to 24.2 billion CFA francs (US$40.3 million).
Senegal’s main suppliers remain China (14.9%), Russia (10.4%), Nigeria (9.0%), France (8.9%), and India (8.2%).
Thanks to the strong growth in exports, Senegal’s trade balance showed a surplus of 183.8 billion CFA francs (US$306.3 million) in March 2026, after a deficit of 60.1 billion CFA francs ($100.2 million) the previous month.
According to the ANSD, this improvement stems in particular from the strengthening of trade surpluses with Switzerland, the Netherlands and Spain.
AC/Sf/fss/as/APA