Post by Trade facilitator on Oct 9, 2022 23:01:45 GMT 1
Federal Government Of Nigeria (FGN) Plans To Earn $4bn Annually From Cashew Exports
How can this be achieved? What plans are being put in place by the FGN and the supervising ministry to achieve this lofty objective?
Important facts the FGN needs to know to be able to evaluate if its plans on achieving that result is possible.
Cashew plants start bearing fruits after three years (3) of planting and reach full fruit bearing during the tenth year and continue giving remunerative yields for another 20 years. The cashew nuts are harvested during February – May. Normally, harvesting consists of picking of nuts that have dropped to the ground after maturing.
How many surviving cashew trees do we currently have in Nigeria?
Nigeria has about 600,000 surviving cashew trees spread across the country, in all parts of the country. Currently, 75% to 80% of cashew nuts produced in Nigeria are exported raw, as only very few companies are involved in the local processing of the produce.
The country currently has 15 active processing plants with estimated capacity of 55,750 metric tonnes.
The Federal Government recently said it was working to improve the country’s earnings from cashew exports to about $4 billion annually. Yes it is possible, but how many trees is the FGN planting as at now? You know that it will take an average of three years to grow to maturity.
Nigeria currently generates about $450 million from the export of the commodity which had been described as too low for the country. This figure is from 600,000 trees, how do you get to $4 billion annually?
Speaking at a media briefing at the 16th Annual Conference of the African Cashew Alliance that was held in Abuja, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Niyi Adebayo, also said the country currently produces about 260,000 metric tonnes of cashew nuts annually, adding that plans were ongoing to raise the annual production capacity to over 500,000 metric tonnes. We need to know the plans and follow up.
He added that out of the current production figure of 260, 000 metric tonnes, 180, 000 metric tonnes are traded as raw cashew nuts.
Represented at the event by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dr. Evelyn Ngige, the minister said the conference would sensitize Nigerians on the investment opportunities that abound in the cashew value chain as well as the benefits accruable from the hosting of the event in the country.
Adebayo said there was a myriad of investment opportunities in the cashew sub-sector which could generate immense wealth and employment for Nigerians, stressing that investment in the sector cuts across the cashew value chain from cultivation, harvesting, processing, storage, and marketing to exporting of either the raw cashew nuts or partially processed products.
He said presently, Nigeria has 15 active processing plants with estimated capacity of 55,750 metric tonnes and eight inactive plants with an estimated capacity of 8,500 metric tonnes.
According to him, new investments are being planned for the development of six new plants, with an estimated capacity of 23, 910 metric tonnes, adding that the effort was expected to provide over a million direct and indirect employments for the teeming youths.
The minister also said that cashew production is currently limited to only about 10 states out of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
He said since the inception of the present administration, the government has continued to pursue deliberate policies to diversify the economy away from its over-dependence on the oil and gas sector.
The minister said the government had sustained its commitment to the provision of enabling environment and incentives for the development of the cashew value chain, adding that these efforts have enhanced activities in the sub-sector, resulting in an increase in the commodity’s production in the country.
However, President, African Cashew Alliance (ACA), Mr. Tola Faseru, said investment in the sector remained critical for economic diversification.
He said the sub-sector could help the country earn the much-needed foreign exchange, and create the much-desired employment opportunities.
Faseru said Nigeria must change the narrative by adding value to its raw cashew exports in order to benefit significantly from the activities, adding that the conference, which has over 30 countries from around the world participating, will hopefully stop job exports to other countries.
All these statements are good, but in concrete terms, we need to see what the country has done with the stakeholders in the industry to actualize the objective. Mere statements cannot take us anywhere; it is only sustained practical steps like those taken by Kenya, Ghana and Ivory Coast in their various industries of strength that can yield results for Nigeria.
Stay with us for more.
Our company is one of the best companies in Agro-Export Business in Nigeria today, we train individuals and corporate organizations on how to do Export Business the right way; if you are interested, please contact the admin of this forum now for further details.
How can this be achieved? What plans are being put in place by the FGN and the supervising ministry to achieve this lofty objective?
Important facts the FGN needs to know to be able to evaluate if its plans on achieving that result is possible.
Cashew plants start bearing fruits after three years (3) of planting and reach full fruit bearing during the tenth year and continue giving remunerative yields for another 20 years. The cashew nuts are harvested during February – May. Normally, harvesting consists of picking of nuts that have dropped to the ground after maturing.
How many surviving cashew trees do we currently have in Nigeria?
Nigeria has about 600,000 surviving cashew trees spread across the country, in all parts of the country. Currently, 75% to 80% of cashew nuts produced in Nigeria are exported raw, as only very few companies are involved in the local processing of the produce.
The country currently has 15 active processing plants with estimated capacity of 55,750 metric tonnes.
The Federal Government recently said it was working to improve the country’s earnings from cashew exports to about $4 billion annually. Yes it is possible, but how many trees is the FGN planting as at now? You know that it will take an average of three years to grow to maturity.
Nigeria currently generates about $450 million from the export of the commodity which had been described as too low for the country. This figure is from 600,000 trees, how do you get to $4 billion annually?
Speaking at a media briefing at the 16th Annual Conference of the African Cashew Alliance that was held in Abuja, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Niyi Adebayo, also said the country currently produces about 260,000 metric tonnes of cashew nuts annually, adding that plans were ongoing to raise the annual production capacity to over 500,000 metric tonnes. We need to know the plans and follow up.
He added that out of the current production figure of 260, 000 metric tonnes, 180, 000 metric tonnes are traded as raw cashew nuts.
Represented at the event by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dr. Evelyn Ngige, the minister said the conference would sensitize Nigerians on the investment opportunities that abound in the cashew value chain as well as the benefits accruable from the hosting of the event in the country.
Adebayo said there was a myriad of investment opportunities in the cashew sub-sector which could generate immense wealth and employment for Nigerians, stressing that investment in the sector cuts across the cashew value chain from cultivation, harvesting, processing, storage, and marketing to exporting of either the raw cashew nuts or partially processed products.
He said presently, Nigeria has 15 active processing plants with estimated capacity of 55,750 metric tonnes and eight inactive plants with an estimated capacity of 8,500 metric tonnes.
According to him, new investments are being planned for the development of six new plants, with an estimated capacity of 23, 910 metric tonnes, adding that the effort was expected to provide over a million direct and indirect employments for the teeming youths.
The minister also said that cashew production is currently limited to only about 10 states out of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
He said since the inception of the present administration, the government has continued to pursue deliberate policies to diversify the economy away from its over-dependence on the oil and gas sector.
The minister said the government had sustained its commitment to the provision of enabling environment and incentives for the development of the cashew value chain, adding that these efforts have enhanced activities in the sub-sector, resulting in an increase in the commodity’s production in the country.
However, President, African Cashew Alliance (ACA), Mr. Tola Faseru, said investment in the sector remained critical for economic diversification.
He said the sub-sector could help the country earn the much-needed foreign exchange, and create the much-desired employment opportunities.
Faseru said Nigeria must change the narrative by adding value to its raw cashew exports in order to benefit significantly from the activities, adding that the conference, which has over 30 countries from around the world participating, will hopefully stop job exports to other countries.
All these statements are good, but in concrete terms, we need to see what the country has done with the stakeholders in the industry to actualize the objective. Mere statements cannot take us anywhere; it is only sustained practical steps like those taken by Kenya, Ghana and Ivory Coast in their various industries of strength that can yield results for Nigeria.
Stay with us for more.
Our company is one of the best companies in Agro-Export Business in Nigeria today, we train individuals and corporate organizations on how to do Export Business the right way; if you are interested, please contact the admin of this forum now for further details.
