That dollar amount results from a 57.7% increase since 2018 when Senegalese exports totaled $3.6 billion.
Year over year, the overall value of Senegal’s exported goods accelerated by 27.6% compared to $4.5 billion during 2021.
Based on the average exchange rate for 2022, the West African CFA franc depreciated by -12.3% against the US dollar since 2018 and diluted by -12.5% from 2021 to 2022. Senegal’s weaker local currency makes its exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively less expensive for international buyers.
Senegal’s Best Exports Customers
The latest available country-specific data shows that 74.2% of products exported from Senegal was bought by importers in: Mali (19.9% of the Senegalese total), India (15.2%), Switzerland (11.6%), mainland China (4%), Australia (3.9%), Spain (3.6%), Ivory Coast (3.21%), Guinea (3.19%), Gambia (3.1%), United States of America (2.9%), South Korea (1.84%) and Italy (1.78%).
From a continental perspective, 40.9% of Senegal exports by value was delivered to fellow African countries while 25.7% was sold to European importers. Senegal shipped another 25.6% worth of goods to Asia.
Smaller percentages went to buyers in Oceania (4.2%) led by Australia, North America (3.5%), then Latin America (0.2%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean.
Given Senegal’s population of 17.7 million people, its total $5.73 billion in 2022 exports translates to roughly $320 for every resident in the West African nation. That dollar metric exceeds the average $260 per capita one year earlier during 2021.
Senegal’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Senegalese global shipments during 2022 at the 2-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Senegal.
- Mineral fuels including oil: US$1 billion (18.3% of total exports)
- Gems, precious metals: $934.5 million (16.3%)
- Inorganic chemicals: $766.1 million (13.4%)
- Fish: $605.2 million (10.6%)
- Ores, slag, ash: $327.1 million (5.7%)
- Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: $261 million (4.6%)
- Miscellaneous food preparations: $188.6 million (3.3%)
- Iron, steel: $155.4 million (2.7%)
- Fruits, nuts: $145.4 million (2.5%)
- Oil seeds: $144.2 million (2.5%)
Senegal’s top 10 exports generated about four-fifths (79.9%) of the overall value of its global shipments.
Gems and precious metals was the fastest grower among the top 10 Senegalese export categories, up by 112.8% from 2021 to 2022.
In second place for improving export sales were inorganic chemicals via a 58% advance.
Senegal’s shipments of mineral fuels including oil posted the third-fastest gain in value up by 29.9%, bolstered by higher international sales for refined petroleum oils.
The leading decliner among Senegal’s top 10 export categories was oil seeds, pulled down by a -50.3% year-over-year drop.
The above listed product groups are at the two-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level.
Drilling down to the more granular four-digit HTS codes, refined petroleum oils represent Senegal’s most valuable exported product collecting 17.8% of the country’s total export revenues. In second place was unwrought gold (16.3%) trailed by phosphoric or polyphosphoric acids (13.2%), frozen whole fish (4.8%), moluscs (3.8%), titanium ores and concentrates (3.2%), soups and broths (2.9%), niobium or zirconium ores and concentrates (2.5%), unroasted ground nuts (2.4%), then hydraulic cements (2.1%).
Products Generating Senegal’s Best Trade Surpluses
The following types of Senegalese product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Gems, precious metals: US$931.6 million (Up by 113.2% since 2021)
- Inorganic chemicals: $670.6 million (Up by 52.5%)
- Fish: $549.9 million (Up by 21%)
- Ores, slag, ash: $314.9 million (Up by 18.7%)
- Oil seeds: $119.7 million (Down by -56.8%)
- Fruits, nuts: $103.6 million (Up by 1.5%)
- Miscellaneous food preparations: $103.2 million (Up by 2.9%)
- Meat/seafood preparations: $69.2 million (Up by 311.9%)
- Feathers, artificial flowers, hair: $67.9 million (Up by 5.9%)
- Perfumes, cosmetics: $34 million (Up by 14%)
Senegal has highly positive net exports in the international trade of gold. In turn, these cashflows indicate Senegal’s strong competitive advantages under the gems and precious metals product category.
Products Causing Senegal’s Worst Trade Deficits
Senegal incurred an overall -US$6.4 billion trade deficit for 2022, swelling by 68.6% from -$3.8 billion in red ink one year earlier in 2021.
Below are exports from Senegal that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Senegal’s goods trail Senegalese importer spending on foreign products.
- Mineral fuels including oil: -US$2.8 billion (Up by 77.4% since 2021)
- Cereals: -$1 billion (Up by 39%)
- Machinery including computers: -$886.6 million (Up by 52.6%)
- Articles of iron or steel: -$522.7 million (Up by 115.7%)
- Vehicles: -$460.2 million (Up by 4.8%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$425.4 million (Up by 20.1%)
- Ships, boats: -$386.4 million (Up by 29577%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$311.7 million (Up by 38.2%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$311.6 million (Up by 1.1%)
- Iron, steel: -$237.8 million (Down by -11.3%)
Senegal has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits notably for petroleum oils (both refined and crude), coal and petroleum gases under the mineral fuels-related product category.
Senegalese Export Companies
Not one Senegalese corporation ranks among Forbes Global 2000.
Wikipedia lists export-related companies from Senegal. Selected examples are shown below.
- Dakar–Niger Railway (industrial transportation)
- Groupement Aérien Sénégalais (airliner)
- Senelec (electricity)
- Sonatel (telecommunications)
In macroeconomic terms, Senegal’s total exported goods represent 7.8% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2022 ($72.9 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 7.8% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2022 compares to 6.9% one year earlier. Those percentages suggest a relatively increasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Senegal’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.
Another key indicator of an economy’s health is its unemployment rate. Senegal’s jobless rate averaged 22% for 2022, down from its average 24.1% unemployment rate in 2021.
Senegal’s capital city is Dakar.
See also India’s Top Trading Partners, Switzerland’s Top Trading Partners, Top African Export Countries and Rice Exports by Country
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, Country Profiles, The World Factbook. Accessed on June 17, 2023
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on June 17, 2023
International Monetary Fund, Exchange Rates selected indicators (Domestic Currency per U.S. dollar, period average). Accessed on June 17, 2023
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on June 17, 2023
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on June 17, 2023
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on June 17, 2023
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on June 17, 2023
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Senegal. Accessed on June 17, 2023
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on June 17, 2023
Wikipedia, Senegal. Accessed on June 17, 2023