Africa-Press – Senegal. Senegal will import 14,000 tons of onions between August 11 and 25, to counter the shortage of this foodstuff, said the Minister of Trade, Consumption and SMEs, Abdou Karim Fofana.
« Abdou Karim Fofana announced the arrival of 7,000 tonnes of onions on Friday August 11, and other 7,000 tonnes expected by August 25, in order to regulate the market », reports a press release from the service responsible for the communication of his ministry.
« It is a cyclical situation, against which measures are taken, a situation which concerns many products, including sugar and rice », said Mr. Fofana, concerning « speculation », whose prices of the onion are the subject.
According to him, 2,500 tons of onion were imported last week, to ease the shortage.
Even if « India has just suspended its rice exports », Senegal, « manages to have a quota » of the said cereal, « thanks to its good diplomatic relations with this country », has pointed out the Minister of Trade, Consumer Affairs and SMEs, also government spokesperson.
According to the communication service of his ministry, Abdou Karim Fofana gave these assurances during the program « Pencoo » of the RFM, of which he was the guest, this Friday.
« Climate change has had a major impact on harvests. In India, for example, the floods drastically reduced [rice] production, which led to the suspension of exports. It’s the same case for the onion, » he explained.
From 200,000 tons in 2012, Senegalese onion production is now 400,000 tons per year, according to Mr. Fofana.
This quantity » largely covers the needs, but our country is still faced with the lack of storage infrastructure » for its agricultural production, he underlined.
“While waiting for the next season scheduled for January in Senegal, we have authorized onion imports. With the help of the Ministries of Agriculture and Foreign Affairs, the tension will fade by the celebration of Magal » scheduled for early September, assured the government spokesperson.
A shortage of onions has led to soaring prices for this commodity, which is highly consumed by households.
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