High walls protect a Chinese peanut warehouse in central Senegal where the product is becoming the new "gold" for farmers bypassing local traders to sell to Asia at inflated prices.
Beneath an asphalt road leading into the village of Dinguiraye in the west African nation's "peanut basin", the shelling factory is an imposing site on the savannah of dry grass and stunted trees.
"We prefer to sell our peanuts to the Chinese for about 250 francs (HK$3) or more a kilo. Prices sometimes even reach 300 francs in the weekly markets," said farmer Oumar Thiam.
This is significantly better than the 190-franc maximum fixed by the state. "This is the first time that peanut prices have reached this level and it is thanks to the Chinese," he said.
In the nearby village of Sanguel, women sort peanuts in the presence of supervisors, some of them Chinese. "I buy the farmers' peanuts and I shell them before selling them to China, Russia, the Philippines and Malaysia," said Dong Yang, a local Chinese boss who was one of the few foreign exporters willing to talk about his business.
Peanuts, introduced by French colonists, continue to play an important role in the economy as the main cash crop in Senegal, providing jobs for 60 per cent of the population.
They are transformed into oil, powder or paste for use in many recipes, including thieboudienne (rice with fish), a national dish, while by-products include animal feed from seed residue and fuel from the shells.