Browse Data and Analysis

MY2024/25 cotton area harvested for Senegal, Mali, and Burkina Faso is estimated to decrease 17 percent to 981,000 HA. This is mainly due to decreased planted area resulting from a late rainy season in all three countries, as well as civil conflict in Burkina Faso.

This is a regional report on West Africa that primarily covers Senegal, Burkina Faso, and Mali, but also provides brief overviews in certain sections for Niger, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and Mauritania.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) regulations allow the importation of biotech plant products, but they are required to be labeled if they contain more than one percent genetically engineered (GE) plant ingredients. As a result, many retail packaged food importers do not import biotech foods due to concerns that biotech labeling could jeopardize their image.

Total Saudi wheat imports for 2024/25 are forecast to reach 4.25 MMT, an increase of 2 percent over marketing year (MY) 2023/24.

MY2024/25 cotton area harvested for Mali, Senegal, and Burkina Faso is forecast at a combined 1.2 million HA, a one percent increase from the previous MY. A late start of the rainy season delayed planting in all three countries, and insecurity in Burkina Faso continues to prevent planting in many areas.

While the United States holds a 5-year average of less than 1 percent market share ($20.7 million in 2023 exports), Senegal has a growing food manufacturing industry that seeks cost-competitive ingredients and is expanding its exports to neighboring countries.

The major export certificates required by Saudi Arabia’s regulatory and import control agencies are included in this Food and Agricultural Import Regulations and Standards (FAIRS) - Certificates Report. These certificates are required for the importation of food and agricultural products into the Kingdom. Information in this report supplements the FAIRS Annual Country Report.

Saudi Arabia has published numerous regulations and standards over the years. While many of these regulations (both mandatory and voluntary) were notified to the World Trade Organization (WTO), most were immediately implemented making it difficult for U.S. exporters to adjust or comment.

This market study examines consumer perceptions and receptivity towards purchasing U.S. foods and how those products may be successfully marketed in Senegal.

Senegal is a $3 billion dollar market for food and agricultural imports, including $1.3 billion in consumer-oriented products. The United States captures less than one percent of market share, with agricultural exports valued at 20 million dollars in 2023, including $12.3 million in consumer-oriented foods.

Saudi Arabia is a major market ($1.55 billion) for U.S. food and agricultural products, and there are plenty of opportunities to export a wide range of new-to-market U.S. food products.

Senegalese cowpea production is estimated at 152,000 MT in the 2022/23 December- November marketing year (MY), a 36 percent decline from the previous year.