In a press release issued on August 1, Burkina Faso announced the launch of an operation to issue Special Export Authorizations (ASE) for cereals to Niger.
After recalling that exports of cereals (millet, sorghum, maize and cowpea) had previously been banned in Burkina Faso, the press release announced “the suspension of this measure, instituted on November 15, 2022”.
“Out of solidarity with the people of Niger, I am pleased to inform you that, exceptionally, an operation to issue Special Export Authorizations (ASE) for the above-mentioned cereals will be carried out for exports exclusively to Niger”, says the Permanent Secretary of the ‘Guichet Unique du Commerce et d’investissement’, Ms Haoua Sorgho, who invites ”interested economic operators in Burkina Faso to submit their applications to the relevant departments of the Ministry in charge of trade”.
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Since the coup d’état on July 26, led by the Conseil National pour la Sauvegarde de la Patrie (CNSP), Niger has been under an ECOWAS embargo, preventing member states from trading with Niger.
With this measure, Burkina Faso, Niger’s neighbor and supporter of the country since the events, aims to encourage the supply of cereal products to Niger’s markets.