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Burkina Faso has suspended all fresh tomato exports nationwide with immediate effect, as the military-led administration seeks to safeguard local processing facilities from supply deficits.
The ban, revealed in a shared statement dated March 16, 2026, was endorsed by the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Artisanat, Serge Gnaniodem Poda, alongside the Minister of State for Agriculture, Water, Animal and Fisheries Resources, Commandant Ismaël Sombie.
The announcement affects the whole national territory “until further notice,” the statement indicates, and encompasses all economic agents engaged in fresh tomato exports.
“The exportation of fresh tomatoes is suspended across the entire national territory until further notice,” the joint communiqué reads, citing the need to ensure adequate supply to national processing units.
The release of Special Export Authorisations, referred to by their French acronym ASE, has been halted effective immediately.
Operators with existing valid tomato export authorizations have been provided a two-week timeframe from the date of the announcement to finalize any outstanding export processes.
Following that deadline, all current authorizations will be deemed invalid.
The government cautioned that any breach of the directive will result in penalties as per current regulations. Any items confiscated for violating the ban will be transferred, at no cost, to industrial tomato processing facilities created under the nation’s popular shareholding system.
In recent years, Burkina Faso has been striving to enhance its agro-processing sector as part of wider efforts to decrease reliance on raw commodity exports, a policy shift that has become more evident under the transitional military leadership of Captain Ibrahim Traoré.
The ban is expected to create ripple effects on cross-border tomato commerce in the sub-region, including Ghana, which maintains economic and agricultural trade connections with Burkina Faso.
Read the full statement in French below:
Source: Ghanatodayonline.com
