Mali took 14.4% of Senegal's 566.0bn FCFA (€863mn) of goods exports in September 2026, making it Senegal's second-largest customer after Switzerland, financial news site Sika Finance reported, citing Senegalese statistics agency ANSD. That puts exports to Mali at about 81.5bn FCFA (€124mn), by our calculation.
Analysis: September's figure suggests August's 211.2bn FCFA (€322mn) was a one-off rather than a new level. Sales to Mali fell 61% from August but remained 4% above July's 78.5bn FCFA (€120mn). No source has explained the August increase. Because the published share is rounded, the September amount is accurate only to within about 0.3bn FCFA. Over the first nine months, Senegal sold about 740bn FCFA (€1.13bn) of goods to Mali, by our calculation. For Malian importers and Dakar freight forwarders, corridor trade appears back at its summer pace. ANSD's October trade report, expected around early December, should show whether that pace holds.
Source: Sikafinance, Sika Finance, 'Sénégal : le solde de la balance commerciale ressort à -29,5 milliards FCFA en septembre 2026', November 5, 2026, citing ANSD's monthly trade bulletin, September 2026; Sikafinance, Sika Finance, November 5, 2026, citing ANSD's monthly trade bulletin (BMSCE) for September 2026, September 2026; Agence Nationale de la Statistique et de la Démographie (Senegal), ANSD, Bulletin mensuel des statistiques du commerce extérieur, août 2026, August 2026; Agence Nationale de la Statistique et de la Démographie (Senegal), ANSD Senegal, Bulletin mensuel des statistiques du commerce extérieur, août 2026, July 2026 and January–August 2026
Mali's government approved a decree opening 125bn FCFA (€191mn) of additional spending in its revised 2026 budget to fund hospital construction, other priority projects and new personnel costs, the Council of Ministers said in a communiqué on November 6. Parliament must be informed immediately, and a bill ratifying the spending must be filed when its next session opens.
Analysis: The advance equals 3.1% of the 3,993bn FCFA (€6.09bn) of spending in the revised budget, which had already added 415bn FCFA (€633mn) to the initial law. If nothing is canceled elsewhere, 2026 spending would end about 15% above the initial plan, by our calculation. The communiqué does not say whether the money comes from canceled credits, additional revenue or new borrowing. The answer matters for banks bidding at Mali's regional debt auctions, where the Treasury offers 45bn FCFA (€68.6mn) on November 11. The ratification bill, due at parliament's next session, should show how the decree is financed.
Source: Secrétariat général du Gouvernement du Mali, Communiqué du Conseil des Ministres du vendredi 6 novembre 2026, CM N°2026-43/SGG (Ministry of Economy and Finance item), 2026; Various, Loi de finances rectificative 2026 (as reported), 2026; APA News, APA, 'Mali : le budget 2026 porté à près de 4 000 milliards FCFA' (APA - Bamako, October 22, 2026), reporting the CNT plenary vote of October 22 on the 2026 amended finance bill (loi de finances rectificative 2026), 2026; Agence UMOA-Titres, UMOA-Titres call for tenders (avis d'appel d'offres), Mali simultaneous issue of bills and bonds of November 11, 2026, dated Dakar, October 30, 2026, November 11, 2026 auction
Côte d'Ivoire kept its 2026-2027 farmgate price for first-grade seed cotton at 310 FCFA/kg (€0.47/kg), Agriculture Minister Bruno Nabagné Koné said on November 3, state daily Fraternité Matin reported. Malian growers, paid a subsidized 300 FCFA/kg (€0.46/kg) this season, therefore receive 10 FCFA/kg less than their southern neighbors. Mali also left its price unchanged, news site Journal du Mali reported in July.
Analysis: The gap is small, at 3.3%, but it applies to a crop Mali wants to increase 38% this season, to 598,500 metric tons from a provisional 433,700 tons. On last season's volume, the 10 FCFA difference is worth about 4.3bn FCFA (€6.6mn) to growers, by our calculation. Both governments kept last season's prices, so the gap is not new, and no source says it moves cotton across the border. Cotton company CMDT had published no harvest estimate as of November 9. Its first collection figures should show whether the target, which assumed 630,000 hectares sown, is within reach.
Source: Fraternité Matin, Fraternité Matin, 'Campagne coton 2026-2027 : les prix fixés à 310 FCfa et 285 FCfa le kilo', November 3, 2026, 2026-2027 season; 223infos, 223infos, '16e Conseil supérieur de l'agriculture : le prix du kilogramme de coton graine maintenu à 300 FCFA', June 22, 2026, 2026-2027 season; Journal du Mali, Journal du Mali, 'Campagne cotonnière : 598 500 tonnes toujours en ligne de mire', July 23, 2026, 2025-2026 season
Barrick's 80% share of gold production at Mali's Loulo-Gounkoto complex rose 16% from the previous quarter to 102,000 ounces in the third quarter, helped by higher throughput and grades, the Canadian miner said on November 9. All-in sustaining costs fell to $2,220 an ounce from $2,240. Meanwhile, capital spending rose to $77mn from $30mn.
Analysis: The complex has already produced 254,000 ounces for Barrick this year, 98% of the low end of its unchanged 2026 forecast of 260,000 to 290,000 ounces, by our calculation. Barrick's 80% share alone was 31% larger than the 78,119 ounces B2Gold reported for Fekola in the same quarter. Costs are also below plan: third-quarter all-in sustaining costs ran 16% below the low end of the forecast range, by our calculation. Higher output usually lifts royalties for the Malian state, which owns 20% of both operating companies. The jump in capital spending, meanwhile, points to more work for equipment suppliers and underground contractors. Barrick has set no date to revise its forecast.
Source: Barrick Mining Corporation, Barrick Mining Corporation, Management's Discussion and Analysis for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2026 (Form 6-K exhibit 99.2), prepared as of November 6, 2026, Q3 2026 and Q2 2026 and January–September 2026 and 2026; Barrick Mining Corporation, Barrick Mining Corporation, 'Barrick Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results', press release, Toronto, November 9, 2026 (Form 6-K exhibit 99.1), Q3 2026; B2Gold Corp., B2Gold Corp., Management's Discussion and Analysis for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2026 (Form 6-K exhibit 99.2), prepared as at November 4, 2026, Q3 2026
About 100,000 people turned back from Guinea's gold-mining areas were in Bamako and nearly 60,000 more were at the Kourémalé border crossing, Mali's interministerial crisis committee said on November 7, as reported by the news site La Nouvelle Tribune. They arrived after Guinea banned unregulated artisanal gold mining on November 2. Most are from Burkina Faso and Mali. Mali deployed 74 trucks and 24 buses from November 6 to carry about 15,000 people on to Burkina Faso.
Analysis: The arrivals bring a large pool of workers to a sector that produced about 6 metric tons of Mali's 48.2 tons of gold in 2025, or 12%, according to provisional figures reported by Reuters and APA. The convoys organized so far cover about 15,000 people, fewer than one in ten of those counted, by our calculation. The statement does not say how many arrivals are Malian or whether they will look for work at Malian gold sites. If many do, demand for licensed artisanal sites in the Kayes and Sikasso regions could rise. No date has been set for the end of the convoy operation.
Source: Various, La Nouvelle Tribune, 'Mali : près de 160 000 personnes refoulées de Guinée, six décès enregistrés', November 7, 2026, reporting a communiqué of Mali's interministerial crisis and disaster management committee (published by CECOGEC, November 7, 2026), as of November 7, 2026 and from November 6, 2026 and November 2, 2026; Reuters, Mines ministry provisional figures (as reported by Reuters), 2025; APA News, APA, 'Mali : l’Office de l’or artisanal entre en activité' (APA - Bamako, October 10, 2026), reporting OMASP's first board meeting on October 7, 2026; the April 10 ordinance creating OMASP was not opened, 2025
Chart of the week
Senegal's goods exports to Mali, mn FCFA per month, ANSD foreign trade bulletin, March–August 2026
55,969
74,034
40,804
70,763
78,539
211,160
MarAprMayJunJulAug
Monthly value of goods Senegal exported to Mali, in mn FCFA, so August's 211,160 is 211.2bn FCFA (€322mn). The series includes fuel re-exports and does not separate Malian transit cargo. September is not plotted: its value, about 81.5bn FCFA (€124mn), is our calculation from Mali's published share of Senegal's exports, not a figure read in ANSD's bulletin.. Source: Agence Nationale de la Statistique et de la Démographie (Senegal), ANSD Senegal, Bulletin mensuel des statistiques du commerce extérieur, juin 2026, March 2026 and April 2026; Agence Nationale de la Statistique et de la Démographie (Senegal), ANSD Senegal, Bulletin mensuel des statistiques du commerce extérieur, août 2026, May 2026 and June 2026 and July 2026; Agence Nationale de la Statistique et de la Démographie (Senegal), ANSD, Bulletin mensuel des statistiques du commerce extérieur, août 2026, August 2026.
In Alama Pro this week
Deep dive: What Mali's state earns from Fekola gold, and what it owes back
10 stories with workings, from trade with Senegal and the budget to cotton prices, gold mining, port access and construction steel
Five key figures (inflation, the three-year bond yield, Senegal's exports to Mali, Bamako building materials prices, weekly fuel deliveries) and every open tender in our records
Euro equivalents use the fixed parity of 655.957 FCFA per euro. Every figure comes from the official source named under it. Spotted an error? Write to info@alamareport.com; corrections run in the next issue.
