Senegal: why sugar has become a rare commodity

For several weeks, it has been difficult to find sugar in Senegalese shops. And when it is available, its price has become prohibitive.

It's the same story every Ramadan. This year again, sugar has become white gold: rare and expensive, this is what characterizes this key ingredient in pastries during the holy month. The price of a kilogram of powdered sugar increased by more than 15%, from 600 to 700 francs, while the packet of sugar cubes rose from 1 to 000 francs. Above all, it has become increasingly difficult to find sugar on store shelves: a shortage, but whose origin we cannot find.

On the side of the Senegalese Sugar Company (CSS), the main supplier of sugar in Senegal, it is the traders who themselves have created this shortage. According to the government, the stocks of sugar are not reduced, it would simply be a question of dysfunctions present in the distribution. The state promises that this will be resolved in the coming days.

But for the National Union of Traders and Industrialists of Senegal, it is the Senegalese Sugar Company that is at fault: “Unfortunately, it is a repetitive tension that comes at every moment of Ramadan. But this is due to several factors. The sugar company produces about 135 tons per year. The Senegalese consume 000 tons per year. So, each year, there is a gap of 185 to 000 tonnes that we have to import”, explains one of the leaders of the Union.

CSS and merchants blame each other

The needs of the Senegalese are indeed estimated at 1 tons per day, while the production of the CSS is struggling to exceed 000 tons per day. But why is it so difficult to import the missing quantities to flood the market? The Ministry of Commerce has set a quota of 800 tonnes of sugar imported annually. But in 60, for example, 000 tonnes were imported to make up for shortages.

The CSS is directly impacted by quota overruns: significant imports destabilize the market and cause a collapse in sugar prices. This undeniably threatens the CSS, which therefore puts pressure on the authorities to ensure that the quotas are respected.

The National Union of Traders and Industrialists of Senegal sees in this a desire for a monopoly on the import, distribution and production of sugar on the part of the CSS. For several years, between the organization and the French company, the rag has been burning. Especially since the CSS imports 30% of the national quota every year, leaving only crumbs for manufacturers.

Normal, therefore, that CSS and the merchant blame each other. Still, when it is present in the stalls, sugar has reached exorbitant prices. Here again, the CSS is accused of being at the origin of it: last February, the president of the Consumers' Association of Senegal saw in it poor management by the Ministry of Commerce and the stranglehold of the CSS on a tense market, especially during Ramadan.