One in every 4 litres of palm oil consumed in Nigeria in 2023 was imported, the United States Department of Agriculture Report reveals.
However, Nigeria loses over $600 million annually to importing Palm oil, according to the President of the National Palm Produce Association of Nigeria (NPPAN).
This staggering financial drain highlights a critical challenge in the nation’s agricultural sector, especially the palm oil industry.
The NBS Foreign Trade in Goods statistics report also shows Palm oil is Nigeria’s 12th most imported product.
Currently, the import of palm oil accounted for N7.4 billion (7,417,910,717) in the total cost of import for Q1 of 2024 in Nigeria.
The total imports of palm oil increased from 425,000 metric tonnes in 2022 to 475,000 metric tonnes in 2023.
In the early 1960s, Nigeria was the world’s leading producer of palm oil. However, it has since declined to the 5th position globally.
Currently, the highest producer of Palm oil globally is Indonesia. They produce at least 50 million Metric tons annually.
Data from the United States Department of Agriculture shows that palm oil production in Nigeria experienced a significant increase of 23.9%, rising from 1.13 million metric tonnes in 2018 to 1.4 million metric tonnes in 2023.
Despite this increase in production, the increasing demand/consumption of palm oil produced domestically has not matched up with its supply.
The President of NPPAN, Inyang revealed that “Nigeria currently consumes approximately 3 million metric tons of Palm Oil annually which is more than half of its domestic supply.”
In 2019, the Federal government through the CBN began the Oil Palm Development Initiative with “the aim of closing the existing palm oil supply gap of 1.25 million MT.”
A Research Analyst at Investment Bank Renaissance Capital in Sub-Saharan Africa, Chibundi Emeka-Onyenacho, alleged that smaller producers of Palm Oil usually miss out on government benefits compared to larger companies.
“A lot of the money allocated by the central bank goes into the big companies because they are much more viable investments than small-scale farmers.
The result is a “fragmented market”, in which the two largest producers, Presco and Okomu, and other established companies can invest in more efficient methods, while small farmers struggle to access funds.”
Other challenges affecting the Palm Oil industry have been alluded to weather fluctuations, poor input supply, and insufficient investment in the agricultural sector by the government.
The President of NPPAN proposed the initiation of the National Oil Palm Strategy Development plan to revitalize the Palm oil industry.
This plan aims to develop 250,000 hectares of oil plantation annually which will close the gap between the demand and supply of Palm oil domestically within the next 4 years.
Nigerian to Soar to Space
Space Exploration and Research Agency (SERA), an American space company in collaboration with Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’ space exploration company has begun a process to fly the first Nigerian to space.
This initiative might stimulate interest and investment in scientific research, technology development, and education on space programs, potentially leading to advancements in space technology within Nigeria.
Also, this will enable Nigeria to achieve the major objective of the nation’s Space Program which is sending humans to space.