In September, Senegal’s exports were boosted by gold in particular, with a cumulative increase of 85.2 percent compared to the previous month.
The country of Teranga saw a spectacular increase in its exports, which reached 422.7 billion CFA francs compared to 228.2 billion in the previous month, an impressive rise of 85.2 percent.
The latest bulletin from the National Statistics and Demography Agency (ANSD) explains that this strong growth is largely due to exports of strategic products, in particular non-monetary gold, petroleum products and titanium.
Non-monetary gold leads the way
Non-monetary gold sales recorded a remarkable increase, rising from 14.9 billion CFA francs in August to 95.7 billion in September, an increase of more than 540 percent. This reflects the growing importance of gold in Senegal’s export portfolio. At the same time, sales of petroleum products rose by 27.4 percent from 53.8 billion CFA francs in August to 68.5 billion CFA francs, while titanium increased by 2 billion CFA francs.
However, this overall increase in exports was partially offset by lower sales of certain products. Phosphoric acid fell sharply from 31.5 billion CFA francs in August to 16.9 billion in September, a decline of 46.5 percent. Exports of zirconium and preparations for soups and broths also fell slightly, slightly reducing the overall increase.
Compared to September 20-23, Senegal’s exports have risen sharply by 97.6 percent. For the first nine months of the year, cumulative exports reached 2,674.9 billion CFA francs, compared with 2,501.3 billion CFA francs for the same period in 2023, an increase of 6.9 percent. These figures confirm Senegal’s solid export performance in an ever-changing global economic environment.
In September 2024, Senegal’s main trading partners were Mali (13.3 percent), Switzerland (12.0 percent), China (10.2 percent), Italy (10.2 percent) and Australia (9.9 percent). These countries account for a significant share of Senegal’s exports, reflecting the diversification and intensification of the country’s trade relations with a variety of international markets.
Sharp fall in imports
Senegal’s imports totalled 544.3 billion CFA francs in September 2024, down 14.9 percent on the previous month (640.0 billion CFA francs).
This decline was mainly due to a sharp fall in purchases of crude petroleum, machinery and equipment for other industries, and motor vehicles. However, the increase in imports of other petroleum products (149.8 billion CFA francs compared to 130.2 billion) and machinery and equipment partially offset this decline.
Compared with September 2023, imports fell by 3.2 percent, with cumulative imports up to the end of September 2024 standing at 5,164.5 billion CFA francs, compared with 5,229.0 billion for the same period in 2023, a fall of 14.5 percent.
Senegal’s trade balance showed a marked improvement in September 2024, with a deficit reduced to -121.6 billion CFA francs against -411.8 billion in the previous month. This improvement is explained by a significant reduction in the trade deficit with several countries, including China and Saudi Arabia, although the deficit with countries such as Belgium and Nigeria increased slightly.
The ANSD stresses that this positive performance of Senegal’s exports in the third quarter of 2010 reflects an economy that is diversifying and strengthening on international markets, thanks in particular to the sustained demand for natural resources such as gold and petroleum products. This export dynamism, coupled with rigorous import management, suggests that Senegal’s trade balance will stabilise and strengthen in the medium term.
TE/Sf/ac/as/APA