Marketing of peanuts: Immediate opening of exports and suspension of taxes

At the meeting to implement the Prime Minister’s directives on the marketing of peanuts, held Tuesday in Diamniadio, the Minister of Industry and Trade, Serigne Guèye Diop, announced the immediate opening of exports, particularly to China. This decision, “an urgent response” from the government according to the authority, comes in a “critical” context where farmers are struggling to market peanuts. “As of today, we have, with the Confederation of Peanut Industry Operators (Copega), decided that all players can now export peanuts to China, to other countries. China is willing to buy the product,” he said. For the start, the minister specifies that a period of 72 hours is necessary for the joint signing of a circular with the Minister of Agriculture to provide a legal basis for exporters. To facilitate the export quota of between 300,000 and 450,000 tonnes with a minimum purchase price of 305 FCfa per kilogram. Serigne Guèye Diop announced that the tax of 40 FCfa/kg is being removed to reduce operators’ costs. This brought in 9 billion FCFA to the State of Senegal. The minister specified to the stakeholders the establishment of a volume monitoring system. “We have said it to all the players: to export to China, there are conditions of quality, traceability and exchange control to be respected,” he specifies. In addition, Mr. Guèye underlines that in return, the authorities require rigorous traceability and, above all, the repatriation of currencies. On this point, he indicates, customs and its services will be “on horseback”.