SPS standards and international competitiveness in Africa: The case of senegal

Despite a steady decline in its share of GDP and exports, the agricultural sector continues to play an important role in African economies, and in Senegal in particular, where it employs approximately 60 per cent of the labour force. It accounts for a quarter of national public investment, but contributed only 6 per cent to GDP between 2000 and 2009 (Ministère de l’Economie et des Finances du Sénégal, 2011). Horticulture is one of the promising sectors, as can be observed not only from a rapid growth strategy but also from many national agricultural development strategies, because of the vast range of products included and the high level of income it generates for producers, especially in urban and suburban areas. In addition, Senegal has both a favourable climate and a good geographical position for the export of tropical off-season products. These factors have enabled the country to increase the production and export of fruit and vegetables significantly. Horticultural production has experienced a boom over the last ten years, increasing from about 150,000 to 228,000 metric tons between 1992 and 2000 and to 429,000 metric tons in 2007, an increase of 5.5 per cent per year. In 2008, the production of vegetables (excluding potatoes and fresh tomatoes) recorded a growth rate of 8 per cent and the production of fruit experienced a growth rate of 81 per cent. Accordingly, exports have increased from 6,175 metric tons in 1995 to 9,000 metric tons in 2000 and 31,000 metric tons in 2009, an increase of about 5.5 per cent per year. The main target markets for exports are neighbouring countries and the European Union (Ndoye-Niane, 2004; Senegal, National Agency of Statistics and Demography, 2006–2010).