Suneor SA
All data are collected in the Fiscal Year of 2008-2009.
Company Profile and History
SONACOS, the state owned Peanut Oil Company was privatised in 2005 and changed its name in early 2007 to become SUNEOR SA. SUNEOR is the largest food company in the country. The company’s exports of peanut oil accounts for 45 to 50 percent of the world market transactions. It has 5 main production sites in Kaolack, Ziguinchor, Diourbel, Louga and Dakar with a total crushing capacity of 900,000 tons of peanuts per year. It has more than 20,000 retail outlets.
Peanuts are the engine of the rural economy and their production accounts for around 40 percent of cultivated land, taking up two million hectares. The peanut sector provides employment for as many as one million people.
In Country Location
32-36 rue du Dr Calmette, BP 639, Dakar, Senegal;
Telephone: +00221 33 849 17 00
Telefax: +00221 33 823 67 88
Services and Products
Suneor SA is Senegal’s main processor of peanuts, producing peanut oil (NinaL) as well as vinegar, (Niiani) and bleach (Roy Buol). SUNEOR also imports non-refined soybean oil mainly from Brazil, Argentina and France, which it processes for the local market.
Number of Employees
SUNEOR employs over 3,000 people (permanent, seasonal, daily)
Financial Information
SUNEOR produces approximately 150,000 tons of crude peanut oil per year. The European market, which is its main market, can currently absorb only 90,000 tons. The newly privatized company plans to explore and develop new markets to fully utilize its capacity.
No financials available
Market Share
SUNEOR has a 70% market share in Senegal. About 98% of the peanut oil produced by Suneor is exported of which 40% goes to the US and 15% to China.
Business Objective
To grow market share in Senegal further and expand its export markets
Business Model
In Senegal, SUNEOR continues to expand its market share through a policy of quality enhancement, strong innovation and seamless distribution of its products. In 2007 it invested in improving the performance of its refining units and laboratories and strengthened its sales and marketing structures.
Since its privatization its strategy was focused on: separation of the crushing, refining and packaging units to promote productivity; optimizing refining capabilities; starting scientific research to upgrade the quality of its oil; reform its information system and its internal organization to improve its performance by installing software developed by Lawson M3 Consulting France; assisting farmers to improve their crops; and focusing to expand its export market particularly in China.
Ownership of Business
Advens Group of France wholly owns Suneor. Abbas Jaber, a Lebanese born in the town of Thiès in Senegal and his brother Mazen established Jaber Negoce in 1988, which became Advens in 2004 and bought SUNEOR in 2005. Advens Group handles the export of prime food stuffs such as sugar, flour, wheat which they buy on the open markets in Africa. His company is one of the leading European Trading companies in the agro-business.
Benefits Offered and Relations with Government
The government in 2009 continues to protect Suneor, with a tax on imported vegetable oil; this was supposed to have been abolished by December 2005.
Peanuts are the dominant agriculture product and are a major foundation of the economy. About 70% of farmers grow peanuts, 40% of the population relies on peanuts for their livelihood (including peanut processing) and peanuts occupy 40% of all cultivated land. Peanuts (including peanut oil) once dominated exports, accounting for 29% of the total in the early 1980s. By 2005 though, that share had fallen to just 2.2%. Farm productivity is limited by poor access to credit, the small size of most farms, low use of fertilizers, poor roads, a lack of marketing infrastructure, inadequate storage facilities and the low level of mechanization and irrigation with most farms being rain “fed.”
Peanuts are processed locally, and prices of processed peanut oil and other peanut products are set a government controlled commission.
Product Development
In 2007 Suneor introduced new packaging-PET (polyethylene terephthalate). SUNEOR plans to invest in ready-to-use therapeutic foods with the objective of achieving 200,000 tonnes by the end of 2010, by favouring the use of local raw materials. Ready-to-use therapeutic foods are mainly intended for malnourished children but also for persons suffering nutritionally such as the elderly and AIDS patients.