Trade Ministry places temporal ban on flour exportation, others

Press release

The Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment wishes to inform the general public that through its continuous monitoring and surveillance of essential food commodities has observed a limited supply of flour at the retail end. This is due to the fact that average retail price of flour in neighboring countries has gone up. As a result, some traders are buying some of the lower priced flour in the country and exporting it to neighboring countries, increasing pressure on the demand for flour in the country at the retail level.

Given that flour is a major input to the production of bread, any increment on the demand may increase the retail prices of flour and subsequently bread in the country. 

As the country continues to experience the COVID-19 pandemic which is affecting supply chains and prices of essential commodities, MOTIE is imposing a temporal ban on the export, re-export and cross border movement of flour from Gambia to other countries with immediate effect. The objective is to support domestic supply with a view to containing price hikes of flour. The general public is hereby notified and urged to bring to the attention of the law enforcement agency any such prohibited activity. MOTIE will continue to monitor the market and will take appropriate measures when necessary. 

We look forward to the cooperation and understanding of the general public and the business community in particular.