Togo First
Togo to market 250,000t of soybeans in the 2021-2022 campaign
Two hundred and fifty thousand (250,000) tons of soybean seeds will be put up for sale in the 2021-2022 campaign. This was recently disclosed by the Interprofessional Council of Soybean in Togo (CIFS-TOGO), as the campaign was being launched.
This volume is 40% higher than that marketed in the previous campaign: 150,000 t.
Out of the 250,000 t that will be marketed this year, 36,000t will be processed locally. “The interprofessional council asks all operators who have an export contract to set aside a part of their stock for local processing units, to ensure they do not lack the input throughout the year. The council’s office will make sure of that,” said Komla Kadzakade, Chairman CIFS.
In this framework, the CIFS granted local processors a two-week delay to get their soybean supplies.
For the ongoing campaign, the interprofessional council slightly raised the price per kg of soybean, from CFA186 in 2020 to CFA205.
Esaïe Edoh
EU-Togo: 22nd political dialogue was held in Lomé yesterday
Lomé hosted yesterday the 22nd session of the Togo-EU political dialogue. The meeting was co-chaired by the Togolese minister of foreign affairs, Robert Dussey, and the head of the EU representation in Togo, Joaquín Tasso Villalonga.
Attended by several Togolese ministers, the roundtable revolved around political, economic, social, and common interest issues.
“Togo is a reliable and strategic partner on which the European Union can count,” said Robert Dussey during the meeting.
“We have covered many topics, such as the health situation and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, gender equity, regarding which Togo is exemplary, especially when it comes to women leadership,” commented Joaquín Tasso Vilallonga. “...We also talked about economic governance and the preparation of the next summit between the European Union and the African Union,” he added.
The two partners looked at how Togo contributes to peacekeeping and stability in the region.
The EU, let’s recall, is one of Togo’s biggest trade, technical and financial partners. In addition to receiving many of the West African country’s products, such as its organic soybeans, the European Union helps Togo in many aspects, such as fighting poverty, decentralization, education, and economic governance.
The Union is Togo’s second-biggest donor, CFA10 billion in 2019.
President Erdogan arrives in Lomé
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan from Turkey just arrived in Togo, as announced by the Togolese presidency. He was welcomed on his arrival at the Gnassingbé Eyadema International Airport by his Togolese counterpart, Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé.
The Turkish leader came with about 100 people, including officials, economic operators, and investors.
As a reminder, talks between the Togolese and Turkish presidents will focus on bolstering the partnership and cooperation between the two countries. The two men will also talk about security issues in Africa and the pandemic’s management. There will also be a mini-summit which will be attended by the presidents of Burkina Faso and Liberia.
Cimtogo raises price per ton of cement
Cimtogo, a subsidiary of HeidelbergCement, increased the price of its CPJ 45 cement. The information was confirmed last Saturday by Eric Goulignac, MD of Cimtogo.
In a note addressed to retailers dated October 13, 2021, the cement supplier announced the new price and it became effective on October 15. According to the note, the ton of cement sells for CFA79,001 at Cimtogo’s plant in Lomé, and CFA81,000 in Kara.
The surge is apparently due to shocks faced by global maritime supply chains, health restrictions, and economic recovery which is causing demand for goods to rise. These various factors, Goulignac explained, impact ships’ capacities, exacerbating containers’ shortcomings and resulting in higher freight rates.
“This price adjustment became necessary after a 250% increase in fuel for the Scantogo plant and an increase of more than $35 per ton in sea freight on gypsum and coal. Given the actual global context, keeping old prices is no longer possible,” Cimtogo’s MD said.
This means that Togo is now among WAEMU countries - Senegal, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin - where the price of the traditional cement bag rose in 2021. However, Togo, which produces clinker, remains one of WAEMU states where cement is the most expensive.
Yesterday, Oct. 18, certified cement retailers started selling Cimtogo’s cement at CFA80,000-CFA82,000. Meanwhile, the prices of Diamond and Dangoté cement were stable in most places.
“I sell it for 81,000 FCFA. The prices at Cimtogo changed last week. Otherwise, it was 78,000 CFA francs per ton,” a retailer in the Vakpossito district on the outskirts of Lomé told Togo First.
Fiacre E. Kakpo
IMF’s new resident representative confirms progressive economic recovery in Togo
Maximilien Kaffo, the new IMF resident representative in Togo said last Thursday that the country’s economy grew over the first half of the year, despite the Covid crisis. This was also the opinion of the National Council for Credit (CNC).
Kaffo made the statement during a meeting with the local press. He also said that the sectors of industry, trade, services, and some others, regained their pre-pandemic activity levels.
“Production’s resumption also reflects a sustained recovery of demand (internal and external),” the economist said, sharing the CNC’s views.
Indeed, the CNC, during its third session of the year held on October 7, noted that “after nine months of activity, economic indicators point to a stronger-than-expected recovery in the service sector, which is more resilient to the negative impact of Covid-19.”
The council also reported that the average inflation rate stood at 3.9% at the end of August 2021. Year on year, it was at 5.7% in September, which is better than the figure recorded between July and August (6.8%).
Concerning the IMF-Togo relationship, Maximilien Kaffo said talks between the two sides would continue in all serenity.
Let’s recall that last June, the Togolese side kickstarted negotiations with the Bretton Woods institution to “finalize agreements for a new Extended Credit Facility (ECF).”
Esaïe Edoh
Togo-Turkey: Several agreements expected during President Erdogan’s stay
Togo will receive in the middle of this week Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and according to the Togolese presidency, many agreements, in various sectors, should be signed during his stay. Erdogan started last Sunday a tour in Africa.
The foreseen deals are expected in the sectors of agriculture, trade, and defense. Ankara noted that “a deal with Togo in the sector of industry and defense will be major.”
Lomé and Ankara hope that the conventions will level up trade between Turkey and Togo. Authorities from the two countries added that over the past few years, “Togo’s economy has been growing amid political stability.”
It is worth recalling that the Togolese ministers of foreign affairs, Robert Dussey, and defense, Yark Damehane, were in Turkey last June. At the time, the officials talked with Turkish authorities, notably the minister of defense and business actors, regarding ways to boost cooperation between Togo and Turkey.
During his stay in Lomé, President Erdogan will meet with his Togolese counterpart, Faure Gnassingbé, but also visit strategic sites.
Esaïe Edoh
Tsevie is now home to Togo’s first fruit and vegetable processing unit
A fruit and vegetable processing unit, the first in Togo, was inaugurated in Tsévié last Thursday. The facility, which will mainly make tomato paste and pineapple juice, was inaugurated by the minister of grassroots development and youth employment, Myriam Dossou-D’Almeida.
“The commissioning of this processing unit opens up a new page in our country’s agribusiness sector and especially regarding the production of fruit juice and vegetable processing. The unit will help better leverage the strategic position of the Tsévié, notably relative to the Industrial Platform of Adétikopé (PIA), and create jobs for the youth,” through entrepreneurship, said Myriam Dossou-D’Almeida.
The initiative, led by the FAIEJ - the Fund for Support to Youth-led Business Projects - was backed, technically and financially, by the GIZ’s Sustainable Economic Development Program (ProDED). The institution injected CFA30 million into the project.
Esaïe Edoh
Togo: Vaccine Pass could be expanded to the whole country (CNGR)
In Togo, the vaccine pass measure is only mandatory in the Grand Lomé region at the moment because the region concentrates the most cases (over 90%) of Covid-19. This explanation was given by Col. Djibril Mohaman who heads the national coordination team tackling the pandemic (CNGR), in response to recent concerns of the constitutional court regarding the pass’ expansion to the rest of the country.
However, the CNGR added that when vaccines become readily available within the country, the vaccine pass could become mandatory for all as well.
The constitutional court expressed, in a notice issued on Sept.30, two concerns regarding the government’s draft legislation on the vaccine pass.
So far, about a million people have received at least one vaccine shot in Togo - nearly 25% of the target population (4 million). More than 410,000 have received at least two doses.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
Togo seeks CFA50 billion on the UMOA securities market in October
Togo will try to raise CFA50 on the regional money market this month. The funds will be used to finance the country’s Covid-19 recovery strategy.
Lomé’s first issue on the UMOA securities market is today, Oct. 15. The country, by issuing recovery bonds, will seek CFA25 billion. Another issue (of fungible Treasury bonds) is set to follow on October 29 with the same goal.
So far this year, the UMOA securities said, Togo has carried out 19 issues raising a total of CFA502 billion which helped it finance its economic recovery post-Covid-19.
Over the past year, the country raised CFA623 billion on the same market, through 23 issues.
Esaïe Edoh
Togo: Chamber of Commerce and Industry to boost Togo-Burkina Faso trade
The chamber of commerce and industry of Togo (CCIT) wants to boost trade between Burkina Faso and Togo. To this end, the chamber held, on Oct. 13, a meeting with its technical and financial partners to assess the needs of sellers active on the Lomé-Ouagadougou axis.
Measures planned to support small sellers along this road axis include “interventions at checkpoints to make it easier for them to transport their goods, and boosting capacities to help them better manage their business,” said Yawo Josias Kavege, director of business support at the CCIT.
The meeting held two days ago concerned actors of the formal sector, security, and sellers’ association. It falls under the Program to Boost Trade in West Africa which ends in 2023. This program aims not only to improve trade between Burkina Faso and Togo but also to triple inter-African trade volumes by 2025.