Italy strengthens Senegal packaging ties as 13 firms seek 45% market share at Senepack 2026

SENEGAL – Italy has confirmed its commitment to the Senegalese and West African packaging market with 13 companies participating at Senepack 2026, as Italian packaging machinery holds approximately 45 percent of Senegal’s import market, valued at over €15 million (US$16.4 million).

The 13th International Food and Packaging Exhibition, held from 11 to 13 June at the Diamniadio Exhibition Center, featured a strong Italian presence organized by the Italian Trade Agency’s Dakar office, in collaboration with UCIMA and AMAPLAST. 

The event attracted over 200 exhibitors from Africa, Europe and Turkey, with national pavilions from Guinea, Tunisia, Ghana, Mauritania, Morocco and Benin also participating.

Among the Italian delegation was Sacmi, a global leader in beverage equipment manufacturing, which is banking on Africa’s growing need for industrial modernization.

How Italian Packaging Technology Addresses Senegal’s Cold Chain and Processing Needs

The Italian companies specialize in packaging technologies, cold chain solutions, and industrial know-how transfer. 

Lucas Cavina, Sacmi’s commercial director, said that Africa now represents a strategic market where the need for high-performance equipment is rapidly growing. 

The Italian Trade Agency’s Dakar office director Alessandro Gerbino stated that the event was primarily an opportunity to bring Italian companies and Senegalese economic stakeholders closer together, adding that Italian expertise in industrial innovation could help strengthen local business competitiveness. 

Senegal’s packaging machinery imports have shown a compound annual growth rate of 20 percent over the last five years, with particularly dynamic purchases of blow-molding and forming machines.

Why Senegalese Food Processors Seek Italian Partnerships for Local Production

Senegalese professionals expressed strong interest in Italian partnerships. 

Moustapha Ndiaye, director of Cis-Agro, said that agri-food companies need cutting-edge equipment, particularly in packaging, to improve productivity and competitiveness, adding that cooperation with Italian manufacturers could eventually facilitate technology transfer and the establishment of local production facilities. 

Osem Diallo, secretary general of Semig, sees ITA as a partner of choice to modernize packaging for strategic products such as onions and potatoes, which are essential to the country’s food security. 

The event builds on broader Italy-Senegal cooperation, including a business forum held in Dakar in October 2025 with thematic tables on agro-industry covering production, transformation, distribution and packaging.

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