Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, has drawn N23.8 billion in investments from food processors to help reduce its dependency on imports despite its slow development and high cost of doing business.
In an effort to decrease the nation’s reliance on tomato paste imports, GB Foods recently inaugurated a N20 billion, cutting-edge tomato processing facility in Kebbi State.
The 1,500-hectare farm and factory produces 2,000 employment, which GB Foods intends to quadruple during the next phase of growth. It also has a processing plant capable of producing 620 metric tons of goods each day.
This indicates that 226,300 metric tons (MT) of tomatoes may be processed annually at the GB Foods tomato facility. The largest economy in Africa grows 1.5 million MT of tomatoes annually, with 0.7 million MT lost after harvest.
According to government data, Nigeria’s annual tomato demand is estimated to be 2.2 million MT, with a 700,000 MT shortfall.
The factory owned by GB Food will guarantee the annual removal of at least 226,300 tonnes from the total import bill. Its capacity will be increased, ensuring a further collapse in tomato paste imports into Nigeria.
Nigeria is the second-biggest tomato grower in Africa and the 13th largest tomato producer globally, yet the nation is still unable to supply local demand since over 50% of tomato produce is squandered owing to a lack of storage facilities.
The CEO of GB Foods Nigeria, Vincent Egbe, stated at the opening that “during the 2022–2023 seasons, GB Foods’ farm and factory in Kebbi played a pivotal role in generating 75 percent of the total tomato concentrate produced in Nigeria.”
“Even with this substantial contribution, the industry still needs to grow and progress, as evidenced by the fact that demand still outpaces supply,” Egbe continued.
Analysts predict that GB Foods’ investment will eliminate both the industry’s N16 billion yearly import bill and the gap between supply and demand.
Fresh tomatoes may be found in the northwest states of Nigeria, according to Idris Isa, a tomato farmer in Kaduna. He also emphasized that the recently opened tomato plant could decrease the nation’s reliance on imported tomato paste while creating jobs in the area.
Additionally, ReelFruit opened a $2.5 million (or N3.8 billion, given the current N1,500/dollar exchange rate) dried fruit processing facility in Ogun State last month. The facility can handle 800MT.
ReelFruit CEO Affiong Williams predicted that the processing facility would strengthen agriculture in the nation by empowering farmers and reducing rising post-harvest losses.
“We are pleased to have inaugurated Nigeria’s biggest factory producing dried fruit, demonstrating our steadfast and long-term faith in the country’s potential for manufacturing and agriculture.”
Nigeria is home to a wide variety of fruits, including pawpaw, avocado, pineapple, oranges, and guava.
Millions of tonnes of these fruits are harvested annually in Nigeria, but many of them are wasted as a result of inadequate market accessibility and inadequate storage facilities, among other issues.
The majority of fruits in the nation are grown in the middle belt region, where traders purchase them and transport them to other regions of the nation, particularly those with significant fruit consumption.
The Food and Agricultural Organization reports that Nigeria is currently the ninth-largest producer of citrus fruits and mangoes in the world, with 3.4 million MT and 850,000 MT, respectively.
Nigerian juice producers import juice concentrate in order to keep up with the country’s strong demand for juice. According to the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Nigeria imports fruit juice valued at N165 billion per year.
ReelFruit’s investment, according to experts, will ensure that Nigerians eat healthier dried fruits by bridging the gap between supply and demand.
