The Agribusiness Services and Producers' Association (ASPA), the inter-professional body vested with the management of the Gambia Groundnut Sub-Sector, has declared Friday 5th December, 2008, as the official start date for this year's groundnut-marketing season in The Gambia.

According to a press release from the ASPA head office, the session will last until 31st March 2009, and it added that ASPA, in consultation with the government of The Gambia, has fixed a Groundnut Producer Price of D8, 000.00 (eight thousand Dalasis) per metric ton.

Consequently, the release informed all cooperative marketing societies (CPMS), private traders and any agent wishing to participate in groundnut buying at primary selling points (seccos) level to prepare their equipment and clean their seccos accordingly.

ASPA further informs all groundnut producers that this year's producer price had been arrived at using the officially recognized Producer Price Determination Mechanism, which takes into account the World Market Price for Groundnut Products as well as parameters and ratios relevant to the domestic marketing system.

This year's price compares quite favorably with what prevails in the sub-region, the release concludes, urging farmers to sell their produce through the existing marketing outlets.