How China's appetite for peanuts slams Senegal's own arachis oil industry

There are currently around one hundred Chinese companies registered in Senegal. From January to November 2020, China imported around 323,000 tonnes of peanuts from Senegal, almost triple the amount imported in 2015. Senegal is the third largest peanut producing country in Africa, and peanut farming involves more than half of the rural population - around 4 million livelihoods - and is considered the backbone of the national economy. Much of the country's peanuts are exported, with 90% going to China.

Chinese businessmen offer a relatively high price, so farmers prefer to sell their peanuts to them rather than to local companies. This competition between Chinese and local companies makes local farmers the big winners, but in the long run it has major consequences for Senegal's arachis oil industry and economic landscape. At the same time, the security of Chinese buyers is at risk as the conflicts intensify.

Photo: February 2021. 40 tonne trucks full of peanuts were parked on the side of the road outside Kaolack, waiting to be weighed and shipped to the port of Dakar.

Photo credit : Mamadou Alpha Diallo