Despite being one of the primary supply sources for Senegal – a country with one of the highest per capita rice consumption rates in West Africa, Việt Nam's rice exports to this nation remain modest.

According to the Việt Nam Trade Office in Algeria and Senegal, Việt Nam shipped 12,000 tonnes of rice to Senegal in 2023, resulting in a turnover of US$5.35 million, up 215 per cent year-on-year. However, the amount is small compared to the African country’s purchase of 1.3 million tonnes of rice in that year.

Senegal imports between 900,000 and 1 million tonnes of the grain annually, mostly low-priced 100 per cent broken rice. Its main suppliers include India, Thailand, China, Pakistan, Uruguay, and Việt Nam. Apart from serving the domestic market of over 18 million people, the country also imports rice for re-export to neighbouring ones such as Mauritania, Guinea-Bissau, and Gambia.

At the beginning of 2022, facing rising food prices, the Senegalese government implemented measures to maintain purchasing power, including abolishing VAT on imported rice and reducing import duties on broken and regular rice to 2.7 per cent from the previous 12.7 per cent.

In the context of scarce supply and Senegal gearing up for presidential elections in 2024, it is likely that the nation will increase imports of broken rice from Asia. — VNS