According to the National Palm Produce Association of Nigeria (NPPAN), Nigeria imports 600 million dollars’ worth of palm oil every year. In an interview on Tuesday in Abuja, Mr. Alphonsus Inyang, the association’s national president, made this claim.
He said the costs were detrimental to the country’s progress. According to Inyang, the money could be preserved and reinvested in the economy if succeeding governments gave the palm oil subsector the attention it deserves.
According to the president, Nigeria, which used to be self-sufficient in its production of palm oil, now has to spend a significant sum importing the same good. According to Inyang, Nigeria accounted for more than 60% of the world’s palm oil production and exports in the 1960s, making it the leading country in the world.
He said that the reverse was the case at the moment as over 50 per cent of what “we consume are imported,”he said. Inyang said at the moment the country occupies fifth position in the league of palm oil producing countries after Indonesia, Malaysia,Thailand and Colombia.
According to him, Nigeria may lose the position to smaller countries who are investing heavily in the sector. He said Indonesia occupies the first position, producing 50 million metric tons, Malaysia second with 19 million metric tons, Thailand 3.28 million and Colombia 1.9 million metric tons. The president attributed the challenge to the negelect of the sector by successive governments.
Inyang said based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Nigeria currently occupy fifth position in the league of palm oil producing countries with 1.5 per cent or 1.4 million metric tons of the world’s total output.
“Nigeria was overthrown as the world’s largest palm oil producer and exporter by Malaysia and Indonesia in 1966. Currently Nigeria is the largest consumer of the product in the continent, consuming approximately three million metric tons yearly.
“Domestic production stands at less than 1.4 million metric tons, leaving a deficit of over 1.6 million metric tones,’’ he said. Inyang urged government, specifically the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to support NPPAN members with seedlings to develop 250,000 hectares per year.
“Our members can plant up to 250,000 hectares per year through the association’s National Oil Palm Strategy Development Plan , all we want are inputs. Government does not need to give and develop land for us, we need seedlings, fertilisers, logistics and implements to close this gab within four years. We will also create new millionaires in 28 states of the federation, “he said.
