Onion market: Controversy erupts between producers' fears and consumers' defenses.

The controversy surrounding onion supplies ahead of the Grand Magal of Touba is growing. A few days after the tour of the Director General of the Market Regulation Agency (ARM) in the Niayes region, producers in Ngomène denounced the authorization granted to the marketing of Indian onions, believing that this decision threatens the sale of their stocks.

During this visit, the Director General of the ARM had nevertheless been reassuring. He had announced the availability of nearly 60,000 tons of onions stored in the production areas of Ngomène, Gandiol and in cold storage facilities, assuring that these quantities were sufficient to cover the needs of the Grand Magal of Touba, or even those of the Gamou, while dismissing any risk of shortage.

According to producers in Ngomène, the authorization to market Indian onions risks hindering the sale of their produce and causing significant losses if their stocks were to spoil.

In response to this protest, the president of the Onion Interprofessional Association (ARM), Aly Ndiaye, spoke out. He recalled that he had already warned last week of a potential market crisis, citing uncertainties about onion availability as the Magal approached, as well as an early price increase. The ARM denied these claims in a press release, assuring everyone that available stocks were sufficient until the Gamou.

For Aly Ndiaye, the decision to authorize the sale of Indian onions confirms that his concerns were well-founded. He states that in Ngomène, a sack of onions sells for between 9,000 and 10,000 CFA francs, a price increase he considers worrying.

While he supports opening the market to Indian onions to stabilize prices, Aly Ndiaye insists on the need for rigorous oversight of this measure. According to him, monitoring will protect the interests of producers while guaranteeing consumers reasonable prices.

"The producers of Ngomène should not occupy the market alone to dictate their law. The consumer has the right to choose their purchases," he asserts.

The president of the Interprofessional Onion Association also claims to have observed supply disruptions in several localities of the country, believing that the production of Ngomène alone cannot meet national demand.

He therefore calls on producers to offer more accessible prices, believing that it is unacceptable to impose successive increases during a period of high consumption such as that of the Grand Magal of Touba.