Senegal temporarily suspends rice imports for one month.

On November 12, 2025, the Senegalese Ministry of Industry and Trade decided to suspend rice imports for one month to facilitate the consumption of local rice, as imported rice is more competitively priced.

This measure was implemented after reaching an agreement among producers, traders, processors, government agencies, and technical and financial partners at a meeting organized by Senegal's Market Regulatory Authority. Rice producers in Dagana province, in the Senegal River valley region, reported that nearly 195,000 tons of paddy rice from the 2025 crop remain unsold. Normally, Senegal only imports enough rice for three months of stockpiling, but the current stockpile is sufficient for six months.

With the aim of stabilizing the market and protecting local rice producers from imported rice, in addition to the measures mentioned above, the Senegalese Ministry of Industry and Trade has also set a single selling price of 350 CFA Francs/kg (approximately 0.62 USD) for domestically produced broken rice and whole grain rice.

Senegal is the third largest rice importer in Africa (approximately over 1 million tons/year), after Nigeria and Cote d'Ivoire. Domestic rice production only meets 30% of the population's demand, which amounts to 2.2 million tons of rice. One characteristic of the Senegalese rice market is that over 98% of its rice is imported (due to local eating habits and low prices). The main suppliers are India, Thailand, Pakistan, Brazil, and Vietnam. Import duties on rice into Senegal are 10%, VAT 18%, statistical fees 1%, and community solidarity tax 1%, totaling 30%.

According to the latest report on the global grain market, the US Department of Agriculture estimates that Senegal will need to import 1.65 million tons of rice for 2025/2026, accounting for approximately 70% of its market demand (nearly 2.2 million tons/year).

According to data from the Vietnam Customs Department, in the first 10 months of 2025, Vietnam's rice exports to Senegal increased by 7,258% in volume and 3,145% in value, reaching 165,624 tons, equivalent to 51.57 million USD.

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Source: Hoang Duc Nhuan - Vietnam Trade Office in Algeria, also covering Senegal

Tags: rice import, Senegal

Source: https://moit.gov.vn/tin-tuc/senegal-tam-ngung-nhap-khau-gao-01-thang.html