Covid-19: Cashew nut marketing season takes off slowly in southern Senegal

15 Mai 2020

Ziguinchor, Senegal, May 15  (Infosplusgabon) - After several weeks of uncertainty, the marketing season for cashew nuts in Casamance, southern Senegal, has got off to a tentative start.

For the past few days, vehicles loaded with nuts have occasionally been seen entering Ziguinchor, the regional main town.

Shops owned by experienced traders in the sector are gradually opening doors. In front of some of these stores, piles of the first nuts purchased have even begun to dry, proof that the campaign is underway.

But it's not yet the big rush, we're still far from the usual excitement. A situation that can be explained by the very small quantity of nuts received due to the absence of the Indian and Chinese buyers who are leading exporters.

This start has revived some hope among growers  who had begun to wonder about the outcome of the season. The latter feared the possibility of opening the market this year because of the coronavirus pandemic which has blocked all economic activities throughout the world.

The start of activity in the market certainly does not ease their minds as nut prices per kilogram have dropped considerably compared to previous years. Currently, a kilo sells at 250 F CFA on the field edge against 350 F CFA last year. This means  a huge loss of income for growers.

Many of them are now torn between the idea of selling their crop immediately or wait for a possible price increase. This is the case of Landing Diédhiou, a grower living in a small village west of Ziguinchor who says he is appalled by the very low price that is currently being offered on the market. With this price, all his forecasts will be distorted, otherwise, he will not have the resources to ensure the survival of his family between now and the next rice harvest.

''The marketing campaign has finally started, we didn't even believe it because of this coronavirus. We're slowly starting to sell our nuts, but it's the price that's the problem. The few buyers who come to us offer 250 F CFA per kg. That doesn't suit us at all," he says, pointing out that by selling his crop at this price, his resources are likely to run out by August when the first rice harvests are scheduled for early November. This will create a food deficit for his family, he said.

Estimating this year's loss at nearly 200,000 CFA francs, Mr. Diédhiou says the selling price is not convenient for him. However, he doubts if the campaign will continue because of the coronavirus. "If this is not the case, the loss will be even greater because it will be assumed that prices will fall further or there will not even be a sale," he added.

Another producer, Aka Mpamy, also has the same concern. He says that by selling his nuts at the current price, he won't make it because he will have a shortfall of resources to cover his family's needs during the harsh winter period. For this reason, he says he is reluctant to sell his crop, which is close to three tonnes, right away. Otherwise, he fears that if price will rise afterward, when Asian buyers come on the scene, that will be a great regret for him.

On the side of the intermediaries who are the main buyers, for the moment, it is indicated that the possible increase in price is not possible at the moment because the Indian or Chinese partners for whom they work are not ready to exceed 350 F CFA for the kg delivered to Ziguinchor.

''We cannot take the kg at more than 250 F CFA in the bush because our Indian or non-Chinese partners for whom we work have told us not to exceed the 350 F CFA mark in Ziguinchor. Therefore, we cannot go beyond that. You know that cashew nuts are quoted on the stock exchange," noted Abdourahmane Diallo, an intermediary who maintains that in neighbouring Guinea-Bissau, it is also the same price.

According to him, this year prices are not going to go up much because not only because of this coronavirus pandemic that has deregulated all activities in the world, but there is also the fact that more and more countries are producing cashew nuts in Africa and elsewhere.

FIN/ INFOSPLUSGABON/GVB/GABON2020

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