Senegal’s wheat imports approach 1M tonnes as milling capacity grows
Rising wheat use, lower import prices and new milling capacity are driving Senegal’s growing dependence on imported wheat, while regional flour trade adds to demand.
SENEGAL – Senegal imported 982,106 tonnes of wheat in 2025, marking an 8.5% rise from 904,947 tonnes in 2024 and the fifth straight year of growth, according to the National Agency for Statistics and Demography (ANSD).
The figure shows how wheat continues to gain ground in Senegal’s food market. Imports stood at 753,807 tonnes in 2021 before rising each year through 2025. Wheat ranks as the country’s second most consumed cereal after rice, with demand growing particularly in urban areas.
Data from the Senegalese Institute of Agricultural Research (ISRA) shows that per capita wheat consumption increased by nearly 56% over 18 years, from 27 kg in 2002 to 42 kg in 2020. Lower import prices have also supported demand.
ANSD data shows that the average wheat import price fell from 276 CFA francs per kg in 2022, about US$0.42, to 178 CFA francs, about US$0.27, a decline of nearly 36%.
Local millers process much of the imported wheat into flour for bakeries and food manufacturers. Major companies in the sector include Grands Moulins de Dakar, Grands Moulins du Sahel, MS, FKS, NMA and Olam.
Senegal has also continued to add milling capacity. On February 27, Moroccan industrial engineering company REMORA said it had completed a wheat flour mill in Senegal with the capacity to process 500 tonnes of wheat per day. The project promoter did not disclose its identity.
The growth in milling capacity could support both domestic food production and regional trade. ANSD data shows that Senegal exported an average of 13,861 tonnes of soft wheat flour each year between 2020 and 2023. Exports reached 29,249 tonnes in 2021, while export earnings averaged about US$5.89 million over the period and reached about US$11.74 million in 2021.
However, official figures may not capture all regional trade. The OECD’s Sahel and West Africa Club estimated in 2025 that 84% of intra regional trade in cereal products went unrecorded.
Senegal’s wider food trade policy also points to a stronger focus on local processing. In July, the government suspended new Food Import Declarations for rice for one month as local mills held about 37,000 tonnes of white rice. Traders must buy set quantities of local rice before receiving new import approvals.
The government has set the purchase price for local rice at 280 CFA francs per kg, about US$0.43, while mills will receive 50 CFA francs per kg, about US$0.08, in public support.
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