The Senegalese economy is expected to contract this year due to disruptions in economic activity caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, notes the IMF mission.

In the eyes of the services of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), led by Mrs Corinne Deléchat, on a virtual mission from September 9 to 18, 2020 in order to update the macroeconomic projections, and to examine the execution of the amending finance law 2020 and the finance bill for the year 2021, "a recovery is underway, but its pace and extent remain very uncertain".

“The Senegalese economy has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic: real GDP is now expected to contract by 0.7% this year, due to the pandemic and the strict containment measures that have led to more significant disruptions to economic activity than expected,” says Corinne Deléchat.

A gradual recovery in economic activity has been taking place since May, with the lifting of most COVID-19 restrictions, followed by the reopening of borders in July. Senegal's vigorous health response is showing encouraging signs: the number of new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations has gradually decreased over the past four weeks.
In 2021, production is expected to rebound, with growth above 5% driven in part by favorable prospects in the agricultural sector. However, this projection is subject to considerable risks, given the uncertainties surrounding the pace of the global recovery and the evolution of the pandemic, which could continue to affect important sectors of the economy, such as tourism, transportation and hospitality.

The execution of the amending finance law for the year 2020 is proceeding overall in line with forecasts, with robust implementation of the economic and social resilience program (PRES) to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The authorities and the IMF team have made considerable progress in establishing the main parameters of the draft 2021 budget law, in preparation for the second review mission of the ICPE program, scheduled for the end of October 2020. A board meeting is tentatively scheduled for December 2020.