As the groundnut trade season reaches its climax in Gambia, a depot manager said that the tonnage registered so far is very low compared to what is expected.
According to Mr. Baba Camara, his depot purchases nuts from both the north and south banks of the Upper River Region. He said the north registered only 430 tonnes, while the south registered 2113 tonnes, making a total of 2543 tonnes. He said he was expecting up to 15,000 tonnes.
Camara said farmers still have groundnuts but very few are taking them to the depots. They believe they will get a better price when they take their nuts to Senegal or keep them until later. Mr Camara, however, cautioned those farmers that the future can never be predicted, especially with regards to groundnut, which he said can be easily destroyed without proper storage facilities.
Muhamed Nimaga, a farmer, said groundnut production is so painful that they cannot give their nuts to the traders as charity. He said he could not understand why they can get better prices when they take their nuts to Senegal.
According to a trader, the trade season is already a failure, with farmers taking their nuts to Senegal for marketing. He pointed out that he would sit the whole day without seeing a single farmer in his secco.
