How long can onion sales to Mali continue?

As with the other African destinations, exports to Mali are huge this season. Up to and including week 50, 31.607 tons of onions were exported to Mali. This is more than 75% more than 1 year earlier in the same period.

Interior of Africa
Mali is located in the interior of Africa and therefore cannot directly import Dutch onions. The onions are therefore imported via Senegal, Mauritania and Ivory Coast. The ports of Dakar (Senegal) and Abidjan (Ivory Coast) in particular form an important link.

Exports to Mali are relatively expensive, due to local costs involved in exporting; Customs costs in particular are very high. There is war in the north of Mali, which means the government needs a lot of money. By charging high customs and import costs, the government can appropriate a lot of money.

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The export figures to Mali up to and including 2016.Local cultivation
Mali grows its own pink onions. The local season in Mali runs from January/February to August. Many onions are also imported from Morocco in the months of June/July. Dutch exports to Mali focus on the other months; from September to the end of January.

Although Dutch onions are very popular, the popularity of local onions is increasing. The government in Mali is trying to stimulate the consumption of local cultivation. By making it difficult for Dutch export companies, the costs of our onions are so high that the trade in Mali switches to the local harvest.

Africa export season is coming to an end
The Dutch export season to Mali is currently coming to an end. The last shipments are on their way to the African country. Across the board, exports to Africa are taking a step back, as people are switching to local harvests. Last Thursday a meeting was held about the most important export destination: Senegal. No concrete decision has been taken regarding the introduction of a new export quota. 

The expectation is that the local harvest will be delayed, which means that Senegal will have too few onions (until the switch to the local harvest is actually made). A number of export companies are responding cleverly to this. Boats currently in the harbor will probably still be unloaded.

Whether exports will be just as good in the coming season depends on many factors. Political decisions and the price are of great importance. In recent years, both local and Western organizations have invested heavily in onion storage. If local onions can be stored for longer, the country will use these local onions for longer.Mali is 29 times the size of the Netherlands and has 18 million inhabitants.