Senegal: Exporter Guide
Senegal has announced that it is in the process of becoming a major hub for air travel, with the construction of the new Blaise Diagne airport, scheduled to open in July 2015. The World Bank’s 2015 report on Doing Business noted that Senegal has notably improved its ranking from 171 in 2014 to 131 out of 189 economies surveyed in 2015. Residents in Dakar, including a large expatriate population have relatively high disposable incomes to purchase food products and other consumer goods. Senegal's geographic position relative to the U.S. east and gulf coasts, and availability of good roads, ports and airports, offer trading opportunities for U.S. food exporters, especially suppliers of bulk commodities (wheat and rice), intermediate (meat, condiments), and consumer-ready products (drinks and canned foods). A new Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)‘s Common External Tariff (CET) of 35 percent for sensitive products may be in effect in early January 2015.
