Post by Trade facilitator on Mar 12, 2023 16:25:27 GMT 1
Coffee is one of the most valuable agricultural primary products in global or international trade today. I love dealing in the coffee business, especially in the export sphere. I have never seen anybody that has ever had his cargo rejected. The commodity is highly sought after in the country, In fact coffee is pure gold when it comes to trading commodities. Therefore, be ready to ride with us in this eye opening series on this wonderful agricultural commodity also found in Nigeria.
It is predominantly grown by 25 – 30 million smallholder farmers in about 80 countries all over the world. Coffee is ranked second in value only to oil as a source of foreign exchange in most of the major producing countries.
Coffee Farming In Nigeria:
Nigeria is endowed with abundant human and natural resources and an enviable land area of 92.3 million hectares of which 82 million hectares are considered suitable for cultivation. Though there are many crops that can be grown in Nigeria, among them are; coffee, Tea, cassava, Apple, etc. In this article, we are focusing on coffee as one of the gold mines of farming and export.
Largest Producers And Exporters Of Coffee In The World:
Along its value chain, spanning production and marketing, various activities provide employment opportunities for hundreds of millions of people worldwide. As at 2009, the FAO statistics showed that Brazil is the world leading coffee producing country followed by Vietnam. In 2022, Brazil exported the highest volume of coffee in the world. The volume of export stood at 3.2 million 60-kilograms sacks of coffee.
It is also reported that about 400 million cups of coffee are being consumed daily in America only, while in Russia a lot of coffee is being consumed not to talk of Europe and other parts of the world. The opportunities in this business are huge, and the returns are mouth-watering.
The good news is that coffee Arabica and Robusta originated from Africa, specifically from Ethiopia. As expected Ethiopia is the largest producer of coffee in Africa, but its large consumption is outside Africa.
Nigeria produces and supplies less than 2% of world coffee which shows we are still lagging behind in its production and marketing. This is where the opportunity is, as the yawning gap is there for savvy exporters to fill.
Uganda and Ivory Coast have also made significant progress in the coffee business. Various agricultural policies in Nigeria since 1960 have failed to activate the production of sufficient food for Nigerians.
The President Muhammad Buhari’s Government has made Agriculture its number one priority and had already made some moves that if properly harnessed would achieve the yearnings and aspirations of the entire farmers in the country. But this is 2023, almost 8 years gone into the Administration; the farmers in the coffee business are still waiting for the wind of progress to touch them.
Upland coffee (Coffee Arabica) is suitable for farming at an altitude of 800 meters above sea level; examples are the Jos Plateau, Mambilla Plateau and Northern Cross River which have an altitude of over 4,000 feet (1,219 meters) which is the reason why they experience cold weather.
The Nigerian Senate has passed a bill to establish, “ The National Tea and Coffee development Council '' that will provide the framework for the development, production, commercialization and consumption of made in Nigeria Tea and Coffee to reduce the billions of Naira spent in the importation of the products. We are yet to see the impact of the passage of the bill.
The Lowlands For Robusta Coffee Farming In Nigeria:
The coffee Arabica mentioned earlier is predominantly found in the highlands while the Robusta is found in the lowlands. The lowland areas are more in Nigeria and are Kogi State, Ondo State, Ekiti State, Oyo State, Ogun State, Taraba State, Cross River, Edo State, Benue State, Abia State, Adamawa State, Akwa Ibom State, Delta State, Plateau State lowland, Ebonyi State, Enugu State, Imo State, Kaduna state, Nasarawa State, Niger State and Osun State.
The Great Impact Of The Restoration Of Coffee Production In Nigeria:
The restoration of coffee production in Nigeria as one of the major export commodities would have a significant impact on the Nigeria economy. Apart from the fact that coffee can be grown in all the 774 local Governments in Nigeria depending on Location and variety, a large number of youths will be engaged thereby reducing unemployment, redundancy, and other criminal tendencies.
Coffee Arabica Plantations In Nigeria:
Nigeria presently has about 800 hectares of coffee Arabica plantations scattered between, Plateau State, (9) nine local Government Areas namely, Jos South, Jos North, Jos East, Bassa, Riyom, Barkin Ladi, Bokkos, Mangu and Pankshin. Also found in Taraba State and in Sardauna Local Government area and finally in Obudu Cattle ranch in Cross Rivers State. The majority of the farmers producing coffee Arabica are small scale farmers who own between 0.1 – 20 hectares and form about 84% of the producers.
In the second part of the article, we are going to look at the practical aspects of coffee farming in Nigeria and the export process. Stay with us.
Addendum:
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