From our correspondent in Dakar,
« Okra loves heat and water sums up Youga Niang, horticultural engineer. Yields are highest during the rainy season. It’s a vegetable technically easy to grow » et « very profitable in the cool season “he says – the kilo can then go from 300 to 1000 FCFA -, but it is essentially produced” in small quantities, on small farms », for local consumption: « The sector is not organized ».
An export volume “ minimum “, more ” the demand is there »
According to estimates from the horticulture directorate, 21,500 tonnes of okra were produced in Senegal in 2021/2022, compared to 14,500 tonnes in 2016/2017. Quantities which remain modest. And the export volume is “ minimum “, explains an official of the direction of the protection of plants (DPV). Okra does not appear in the 2022 statistics of this structure responsible in particular for the quality of export products.
However, the demand is there, underlines Mamour Guèye. His company, Ngueya, produces okra in the market gardening area of Niayes. It also supervises producers in the north of the country. He finds that ” okra is increasingly popular in Europe “. About 15 to 20% of its production goes to France and Spain.
A logistical challenge
The main problem according to Mamour Guèye is its conservation. The okra “ must be harvested fresh and exported fresh, in two or three days maximum “. Must therefore “ a very rapid evacuation on the European markets », and a very short distribution circuit.
To be more competitive, especially against producers in Honduras and Costa Rica, Mamour Guèye evokes support for logistics, even new varieties of seeds for more resistant okra over time. Another avenue, for Youga Niang, would be the processing of okra, to be exported into powder or dried slices.
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