FAOSTAT · 2024

Agricultural production in Mauritania

According to FAOSTAT, Mauritania produced 570,227 t of cereals, 4,925 t of vegetables, 27,982 t of fruit, 134,116 t of meat and 363,757 t of milk in 2024. Its largest crops by volume were rice (431,700 t), sorghum (114,000 t) and dates (22,276 t).

Products recorded: 48
World #1: 0; products
World top 10: 3; products
Year: 2024

Mauritania ranks second or third in the world for donkey meat.

Among its twelve largest crops, the biggest ten-year change was in sorghum (+99%), followed by millet (+64%).

Livestock numbers: 2.0 million cattle, 11.2 million sheep and 7.1 million goats.

Totals by group

Group	Tonnes	World rank	Share	10-year change
All cereals	570,227	118	0.02%	+53%
All milk	363,757	105	0.04%	+2.5%
All meat	134,116	119	0.04%	+24%
All pulses	52,972	89	0.05%	+4.7%
All fruit	27,982	159	0%	+12%
All roots and tubers	10,740	163	0%	+3.0%
All eggs	5,667	121	0.01%	+10%
All vegetables	4,925	177	0%	+6.3%

All products by volume, 2024

Product	Tonnes	World rank	Share	10-year change
Rice (paddy)	431,700	52	0.05%	+47%
Cow milk	150,883	122	0.02%	−2.0%
Sorghum	114,000	36	0.18%	+99%
Goat milk	106,337	34	0.52%	+1.2%
Sheep milk	79,663	21	0.81%	+15%
Sheep meat	45,723	41	0.4%	+59%
Beef (cattle meat)	31,134	111	0.04%	+7.4%
Camel meat	28,856	9	4.36%	+17%
Camel milk	26,875	11	0.64%	+1.8%
Skim milk of cows	24,736	104	0.02%	+29%
Dates	22,276	20	0.22%	+18%
Other pulses n.e.c.	22,183	39	0.5%	+7.1%
Goat meat	19,034	39	0.25%	+5.9%
Maize	18,000	127	0%	+43%
Beans, dry	13,792	64	0.05%	+7.3%
Peas, dry	9,050	49	0.06%	−1.0%
Cow peas, dry	7,948	25	0.08%	+1.0%
Cheese from skimmed cow milk	7,800	30	0.29%	+15%
Edible offal of sheep, fresh, chilled or frozen	6,127	42	0.31%	+59%
Raw hides and skins of sheep or lambs	6,127	44	0.28%	+59%
Edible offal of cattle, fresh, chilled or frozen	6,089	89	0.06%	+7.4%
Hen eggs	5,667	121	0.01%	+10%
Sweet potatoes	5,313	75	0.01%	+1.4%
Chicken meat	4,934	151	0%	+6.3%
Other vegetables, fresh n.e.c.	4,925	145	0%	+6.3%
Edible offals of camels and other camelids, fresh, chilled or frozen	4,765	8	5.03%	+17%
Raw hides and skins of cattle	4,566	90	0.05%	+7.4%
Donkey meat	3,988	3	5.33%	+67%
Other fruits, n.e.c.	3,080	108	0.01%	−3.1%
Yams	3,033	42	0%	+2.2%
Millet	3,000	57	0.01%	+65%
Watermelons	2,627	100	0%	−12%
Edible offal of goat, fresh, chilled or frozen	2,551	47	0.17%	+5.9%
Melonseed	2,449	12	0.25%	−6.7%
Potatoes	2,393	136	0%	+7.8%
Raw hides and skins of goats or kids	2,284	48	0.15%	+5.9%
Wheat	2,051	106	0%	−71%
Barley	1,476	92	0%	+3.2%
Butter of cow milk	1,084	94	0.02%	+29%
Sheep fat, unrendered	914	51	0.14%	+58%
Cattle fat, unrendered	899	92	0.03%	+7.3%
Groundnuts (peanuts)	849	90	0%	−8.7%
Fat of camels	805	12	2.73%	+17%
Groundnut oil	494	72	0.01%	+170%
Horse meat, fresh or chilled	447	36	0.06%	−32%
Goat fat, unrendered	381	55	0.12%	+6.1%
Buttermilk, dry	289	78	0.04%	—
Edible offals of horses and other equines, fresh, chilled or frozen	37	34	0.04%	−32%

Live animals, 2024

Product	Head	World rank	Share	10-year change
Sheep	11,208,099	34	0.82%	+23%
Goats	7,149,823	29	0.6%	+1.0%
Chickens	4,810,000	126	0.02%	+4.6%
Cattle	1,992,320	86	0.13%	+7.7%
Camels	1,557,920	8	3.51%	+2.2%
Asses	361,514	24	0.67%	+17%
Horses	66,358	56	0.12%	+2.1%

Mauritania among the world’s producers, 2024

Share of world production by country for the largest crops of Mauritania, which is outlined on the map.

Product

under 0.1%0.1–1%1–5%5–15%15% or moreno data
Small island states are not drawn at this scale.

Production per person, 2024

Mauritania had 5.2 million inhabitants in 2024 (FAOSTAT estimate). Production of its largest products per inhabitant, compared with the world average:

Product	kg per person	World, kg per person	Ratio
Rice (paddy)	83.5	100	0.8×
Cow milk	29.2	97.7	0.3×
Sorghum	22.1	7.87	2.8×
Goat milk	20.6	2.50	8.2×
Sheep milk	15.4	1.20	12.8×
Sheep meat	8.84	1.41	6.3×
Beef (cattle meat)	6.02	8.55	0.7×
Camel meat	5.58	0.08	68.9×
Camel milk	5.20	0.51	10.1×
Skim milk of cows	4.79	17.5	0.3×
Dates	4.31	1.22	3.5×
Other pulses n.e.c.	4.29	0.55	7.9×

Production divided by population; it is not consumption, because crops are traded and used for feed, processing and industry.

Trade in agricultural products, 2024

Mauritania reported exports of 10 and imports of 97 of the products covered here.

Largest exports by value

Product	Tonnes	Value	USD/kg	World rank
Cotton lint, ginned	8,497	USD 9.9 m	1.17	32 of 105
Watermelons	27,737	USD 9.8 m	0.35	25 of 113
Tea leaves	298	USD 406,000	1.36	71 of 143
Pepper (Piper spp.), raw	71	USD 229,000	3.23	71 of 124
Eggs from other birds in shell, fresh, n.e.c.	17	USD 168,000	9.88	53 of 69
Cantaloupes and other melons	268	USD 95,000	0.35	54 of 105
Soya bean oil	7	USD 62,000	8.86	106 of 110
Pumpkins, squash and gourds	92	USD 27,000	0.29	85 of 122
Chick peas, dry	2	USD 9,000	4.50	90 of 99
Rice	1	USD 1,000	1.00	85 of 86

Largest imports by value

Product	Tonnes	Value	USD/kg	World rank
Wheat	914,109	USD 251 m	0.28	48 of 176
Palm oil	136,033	USD 156 m	1.15	46 of 191
Whole milk powder	34,615	USD 55.4 m	1.60	21 of 190
Meat of chickens, fresh or chilled	55,943	USD 39.5 m	0.71	58 of 189
Onions and shallots, dry (excluding dehydrated)	79,537	USD 27.2 m	0.34	27 of 165
Tea leaves	18,339	USD 21.4 m	1.17	24 of 191
Soya bean oil	17,711	USD 21.2 m	1.20	58 of 184
Cauliflowers and broccoli	58,558	USD 15.2 m	0.26	8 of 147
Potatoes	57,533	USD 14.4 m	0.25	53 of 183
Skim milk of cows	31,704	USD 10.9 m	0.34	10 of 176

FAOSTAT detailed trade data, release of 23 July 2026: quantities in tonnes and values in current US dollars as reported; exports include re-exports. Only the FAO trade items that match Husfarm production pages are included: meat covers fresh or chilled meat only (frozen meat is a separate item), and processed goods such as milled rice or flour are not listed.

Questions and answers

What are the main crops produced in Mauritania?

By volume, the largest products of Mauritania in 2024 were rice (paddy) (431,700 t), cow milk (150,883 t), sorghum (114,000 t), according to FAOSTAT.

Is Mauritania the world’s largest producer of anything?

Not in 2024. Its highest world rank was 3rd, for donkey meat.

How much rice (paddy) does Mauritania produce per person?

About 83.5 kg per inhabitant in 2024, compared with a world average of 100 kg (production divided by population, FAOSTAT).

What does Mauritania export most?

By value, its largest agricultural exports in 2024 among the products covered here were cotton lint, ginned (USD 9.9 m), watermelons (USD 9.8 m), tea leaves (USD 406,000), according to FAOSTAT.

What does Mauritania import most?

By value, its largest agricultural imports in 2024 among the products covered here were wheat (USD 251 m), palm oil (USD 156 m), whole milk powder (USD 55.4 m).

Where does this data come from?

Production, trade and population figures are from FAOSTAT, the statistics database of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Rankings, shares and per-person figures are calculated by Husfarm.

Source: FAO. 2025. FAOSTAT: Crops and livestock products. Accessed on 4 November 2026. fao.org/faostat. Licence: CC BY 4.0. Charts, rankings and changes calculated by Husfarm.