On 27 November 2025, Senegal's agriculture minister, Mabouba Diagne, confirmed the groundnut floor price for the 2025-2026 season: 305 CFA francs per kilo, the same as the year before. Farmers had asked for 330 to 350 francs. Three months later, SONACOS, the national oilseed company, broke a collection record that had stood for fifteen years.
Between those two dates, the State had to reopen exports and remove the tax on them. Here is how the groundnut price is set in Senegal, who is allowed to buy, and what a foreign buyer should check before signing.
The farmgate price
Every year, the government sets a floor price: the minimum at which groundnuts must be bought from farmers.
| Season | Farmgate floor price |
|---|---|
| 2023-2024 | 280 CFA francs per kilo |
| 2024-2025 | 305 CFA francs per kilo |
| 2025-2026 | 305 CFA francs per kilo |
| 2026-2027 | not yet announced as of 9 October 2026 |
305 CFA francs per kilo is about €465 per tonne of in-shell groundnuts. The price is a political choice. According to Ecofin, analyses of the Rotterdam and Chinese markets initially pointed to a lower reference price, and the preparatory talks mentioned a floor between 200 and 250 francs. The State chose to support farm incomes.
The floor is a minimum, not a ceiling. In years of strong Chinese demand, exporters pay more: the German institute SWP recorded offers of 350 to 450 francs per kilo.
The 2025-2026 season in figures
- Production: more than 960,000 tonnes according to the agriculture minister. The US Department of Agriculture estimated it at 1.15 million tonnes in February 2026. For comparison, the national statistics agency measured 1.5 million tonnes in 2022-2023, then 1.05 million in 2023-2024.
- SONACOS collection: 97,000 tonnes on 11 January 2026, after 34 days, against 77,000 tonnes on the same date a year earlier. More than 205,000 tonnes on 6 March 2026, above the 2011 record of 204,000 tonnes.
- Target: raised from 200,000 to 450,000 tonnes during the season, with collection set to continue until the end of April 2026.
- Plants: 25 billion CFA francs mobilised to modernise SONACOS facilities.
Who is allowed to buy and export
SONACOS and private oil mills buy groundnuts to crush them into oil and cake. Village collection is handled in part by private storage operators: for 2025-2026, the State planned at least 50 billion CFA francs to pay them.
Exporters depend on the rules set each season. In 2024, Senegal temporarily suspended groundnut seed exports to secure supply for its mills. In January 2026, to clear the collection points, the State signed an agreement with the confederation of groundnut operators, Copega:
- exports are authorised for its members;
- the tax of 40 CFA francs per kilo required until then is removed;
- exporters commit to buy and export between 300,000 and 450,000 tonnes at the 305 franc floor price;
- in return, they must repatriate foreign currency and provide full proof of export.
A foreign buyer therefore buys from a Senegalese exporter authorised for the current season. The rules change from year to year and must be checked before every contract.
Where Senegalese groundnuts go
China is the big buyer of raw groundnuts. In 2020, it imported more than 323,000 tonnes from Senegal, over 90% of the country's groundnut exports. This trade took off with the 2010 liberalisation, which ended public monopolies on wholesale trade.
Policy has shifted since. In 2025, exports of raw, unroasted groundnuts fell to 1,393 tonnes, from 65,308 tonnes a year earlier. Meanwhile, exports of crude groundnut oil reached 22,441 tonnes, their highest level in six years, worth about US$36 million.
What a buyer must specify
- The product: in-shell or shelled, groundnuts for crushing or edible groundnuts for direct consumption.
- The quality: count, moisture, foreign matter, damaged kernels.
- Aflatoxins: in the European Union, Regulation (EU) 2023/915 sets a maximum of 2 micrograms per kilo of aflatoxin B1 and 4 micrograms for total aflatoxins in groundnuts sold to consumers. For groundnuts to be sorted before sale, the limits are 8 and 15 micrograms. Groundnuts for crushing into refined oil are excluded from these limits.
- The documents: export authorisation for the current season, certificate of origin, phytosanitary certificate, laboratory analysis and pre-shipment inspection report.
Our view
Senegal is torn between two paths: selling raw groundnuts to China, at the best price for farmers, or processing them at home. The rise in oil exports in 2025 shows the second path is gaining ground. It is the right direction: a tonne of oil earns more than a tonne of seed, and it creates jobs in Senegal.
But rules that change every season are costly. A buyer who does not know in October whether exports will be allowed in January buys less, or elsewhere. Stable export rules over several years would be worth as much as a few more francs on the floor price.
Frequently asked questions
What is the groundnut price in Senegal in 2026?
The farmgate floor price for the 2025-2026 season is 305 CFA francs per kilo. The 2026-2027 price had not been announced as of 9 October 2026; last year, it was confirmed on 27 November.
When does the groundnut season start in Senegal?
The 2025-2026 marketing season opened in early December 2025, and collection was set to continue until the end of April 2026.
Who buys groundnuts in Senegal?
SONACOS, private oil mills and exporters, often through private storage operators who collect in the villages.
Can you export peanuts from Senegal?
Yes, under the rules of each season. In 2025-2026, Copega members were allowed to export without the 40 CFA franc per kilo tax.
How many groundnuts does Senegal produce?
More than 960,000 tonnes for the 2025 harvest according to the agriculture ministry, 1.15 million according to the US Department of Agriculture.
What we do
GraceRoad finds authorised groundnut exporters in Senegal for its clients, on mandate, for a fixed sourcing fee agreed upfront. We check the export authorisation, have each lot analysed and inspected, and arrange transport to the port of Dakar.
Read next: raw cashew nuts price in 2026 and sesame seeds from Burkina Faso: price and export.
Sources: Ecofin Agency, 1 December 2025, on the 305 CFA franc price confirmed on 27 November 2025 and figures from the national statistics agency; Sikafinance, on farmers' demands and price history; Actusen, on the rise from 280 to 305 CFA francs; Le Soleil, on the preparation of the 2025-2026 season, the agriculture minister's statement on production, the agreement between the State and Copega published on 13 January 2026, and the funding of private storage operators; Senego, 4 February 2026, on the US Department of Agriculture estimate; Africa24, 10 March 2026, on SONACOS collection; Ecofin Agency, 14 August 2026, on raw groundnut and oil exports in 2025; Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, "Senegal: Booming groundnuts export to China poses long-term risks", on exports to China; Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/915, Annex I, on maximum aflatoxin levels.