Burkina Faso and Senegal
What moves each way, the scams to watch for, and what to check before you trade.
Trade safely with Senegal
The scams, documents and rules that matter on this corridor. Written and reviewed by our team, and dated.
Corridor-specific scam patterns and rules are still being reviewed by our team and will appear here once published.
- Confirm the company exists in an official register and that its name matches the one on the invoice.
- Before paying into a new or changed bank account, phone the company on a number you already hold, not one from the invoice or email.
- Test the container number, ship number, ports and dates on the bill of lading with the Document checker.
- Be wary of paying in advance for goods you have not seen, or of fees demanded to release a shipment.
- Ask the carrier directly to confirm the shipment exists and where it is.
In 2024, Burkina Faso sold Senegal about $20.3 million of goods. The biggest products were cigars, cheroots, cigarillos and cigarettes, oil-cake and other solid residues and bran, sharps and other residues, which together make up 74% of the total. The total has grown by about 11% a year since 2022. Among the leading products, waters, including mineral and aerated waters is growing fastest, at about 353% a year.
In 2024, Burkina Faso bought about $153.8 million of goods from Senegal. The biggest products were petroleum oils and oils from bituminous…, fish, frozen and salt, which together make up 95% of the total. More than half of this trade is one product (petroleum oils and oils from bituminous…), so it leans heavily on that one line. The total has grown by about 140% a year since 2022. Among the leading products, petroleum oils and oils from bituminous… is growing fastest, at about 240% a year.
Trade by year
Total trade each year, as reported in the tables below. A missing bar means no report for that year, not zero trade.
View as a table
| Year | Burkina Faso sells to Senegal | Burkina Faso buys from Senegal |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | $16.5m | $26.7m |
| 2023 | $25.4m | $33m |
| 2024 | $20.3m | $153.8m |
What Burkina Faso sells to Senegal
Ranked by value in 2024, by 4-digit product code. Growth is the yearly rate since 2022.
| Product | Value | Share | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cigars, cheroots, cigarillos and cigarettes (of tobacco or of tobacco substitutes) Product code 2402 · Tobacco | $6.9m Senegal reports none | 33.8% | +19.2% a year |
| Oil-cake and other solid residues (whether or not ground or in the form of pellets, resulting from the extract… Product code 2306 · Animal feed and food waste | $6.8m Senegal reports none | 33.5% | -2.4% a year |
| Bran, sharps and other residues (whether or not in the form of pellets derived from the sifting, milling or ot… Product code 2302 · Animal feed and food waste | $1.4m Senegal reports none | 6.7% | +289.1% a year |
Biggest product groups: Animal feed and food waste (44%), Tobacco (34%), Machinery (6%), Fruit and nuts (3%), Beverages and spirits (3%) .
What Burkina Faso buys from Senegal
Ranked by value in 2024, by 4-digit product code. Growth is the yearly rate since 2022.
| Product | Value | Share | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petroleum oils and oils from bituminous minerals, not crude (preparations not listed elsewhere, containing by… Product code 2710 · Fuels and oils | $135.2m Senegal reports $22.1m | 87.9% | +239.9% a year |
| Fish (frozen, excluding fish fillets and other fish meat of heading 0304) Product code 0303 · Fish and seafood | $5.9m | 3.8% | +20.6% a year |
| Salt (including table salt and denatured salt) (pure sodium chloride whether or not in aqueous solution, sea w… Product code 2501 · Salt, stone and cement | $4.3m | 2.8% | +5.5% a year |
Biggest product groups: Fuels and oils (88%), Fish and seafood (5%), Salt, stone and cement (3%), Miscellaneous food preparations (2%), Plastics (1%) .
Where the opportunities are
Products that are moving on this corridor. Only products of a meaningful size are listed. Treat these as leads to check, not promises: a fast rise can reverse.
Room to grow
Products that a market buys a lot of, where this corridor supplies only a small part. Shares are for the latest year both sides reported. A small share can also mean a hard market, so check the rules and the buyer first.
A free account shows the complete product lists, every fast-growing and new product, and the markets where this corridor supplies little. Accounts are checked by hand, so use your business email.
Create a free account Sign inHow to read these figures
Value is what was traded in the year, in US dollars. A big number means a big market, not necessarily an easy one to enter.
Share is that product's part of the total in the table above. A product with a large share is what this corridor already trades most of.
Growth is the average yearly change since the first year shown. A green figure means trade in that product is rising.
Product code is the international customs code (HS) for the product group. Your customs agent and the guide below will ask for it, and it decides the duty you pay.
These are totals reported by customs authorities, not prices or orders. Use them to see where demand exists, then check the rules and the company you plan to deal with.
Next steps
Trade figures are what each country reported to the UN (Comtrade), in US dollars. Imports are usually reported including freight and insurance, exports without, so the two sides of a corridor will not match exactly. Company counts are companies listed on ExporterIQ.