The price of palm oil in Senegal has increased significantly. This surge in the price of palm oil is difficult for consumers to bear. Because they are already cornered by the effects of the health crisis of Covid-19.
The government, for its part, is trying to calm the situation. They believe that things will soon be able to get back to normal. This price change is due to fluctuations in world prices. This is enough to appease unhappy consumers.
The palm oil in Senegal is on the rise
« I use palm oil a lot to cook. But the 20-litre can has gone from 15,000 to 17,000 CFA francs, » said Penda Diop, a sales agent. So this situation does not allow him to balance his finances.
For him, the gap between the old price and the new is too big. That’s an increase of 2000 CFA francs. « The increase is hard because with coronavirus, the work doesn’t work too much, » he lamented.
For merchants, the difficulty is also present. They have a hard time explaining this price increase to consumers. « Customers are not happy at all. They don’t know why it went up and they think it was the sellers who did it, » said Massamba Sarr, a trader.
A temporary increase
According to the Directorate of Internal Trade, this price increase is an impact of the world price of palm oil in Senegal. It’s been on the rise in recent weeks. Then it shouldn’t last too long.
To manage this constraining situation, efforts are being made by the government. To this end, containers are on their way from Asia. Other stocks are also coming from countries in the sub-region such as Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Benin.
As a reminder, palm oil, consumed in Senegal, is most often imported from Malaysia and Indonesia.
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