Benin opened its 2026–2027 soybean marketing season on November 6 with prices left to negotiation between farmers, collectors and industrial buyers, Bénin Web TV reported. Exports are suspended until February 15, 2027, so that local processors are supplied first, under a joint communiqué signed on November 4 by the ministers of trade, agriculture and tourism.
Analysis: The suspension lasts 101 days, by our calculation. It follows second-quarter exports of 56,469 metric tons of soybeans worth 18.0bn FCFA (€27.4mn), statistics agency INStaD said. The government has retained 450,000 tons of processing capacity for 2026–2027, equal to 86% of the 520,900 tons harvested in 2023, the latest output figure available. Without a set price, farmers' earnings depend on how much processors buy while exporters wait. The communiqué, as reported, gives no tonnage target or minimum price. Exports may resume from February 15, 2027.
Source: Bénin Web TV, Bénin Web TV, 'ouverture de la Campagne soja 2026-2027 ce 6 novembre' (November 6, 2026), citing joint ministerial communiqué of November 4, November 6, 2026; Bénin Web TV, Bénin Web TV, November 6, 2026, February 15, 2027; INStaD, INStaD, Bulletin trimestriel des statistiques du commerce extérieur, 2e trimestre 2026, Q2 2026; INStaD, INStaD, Bulletin commerce extérieur T2 2026, Q2 2026; Caisse Autonome d'Amortissement / MEF, Compte rendu du Conseil des ministres du 3 juin 2026 (via Bénin Web TV), 2026/27; Agence Ecofin, Direction de la statistique agricole (via Agence Ecofin), 2023