World Grain - August 2022 - 18

COUNTRY FOCUS
highlands - Gembu (Taraba State), Jos (Plateau State) and
Obudu (Cross River State), " the attaché said. " Wheat production
in Nigeria is experiencing renewed attention from the
government, the African Development Bank, and researchers.
These efforts are paving the way for Nigeria to achieve selfsufficiency
in wheat production.
" The Central Bank of Nigeria through its Anchor Borrowers
Program (ABP) is collaborating with the Wheat Farmers
Association of Nigeria (WFAN) to extend wheat production
from 5 states to 15 states. The bank provides loans to support
the farmers and gives seeds (with short gestation period) imported
from Mexico to assist the farmers.
" The heat-resistant seeds (13,000 tonnes) imported last year
by CBN have undergone multiplication in Jos, Plateau State
and are ready to be distributed to the farmers. Yield per hectare
is forecast to improve by 18% (1.3 tonnes per hectare) as
compared to (1.125 tonnes per hectare) reported for marketing
year 2021-22. "
Private companies including Olam Flour Mills, in tandem
with other research institutes such as the Lake Chad Research
Institute (LCRI) and International Center for Agricultural
Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), have set up a N300
million (US$720,000) 10-year community seed project (heat
tolerant variety) for Nigerian farmers to increase production
of wheat and to strengthen agricultural production in northern
Nigeria's wheat farming belt, the attaché said.
In mid-July, Nigeria became the latest country to approve
imports of Buenos Aires, Argentina-based Bioceres Crop Solutions'
proprietary drought-tolerant HB4 wheat variety, according
to Reuters. Nigeria follows recent approvals by Brazil,
Colombia, Australia and New Zealand for use of HB4 in
food and feed.
The attaché forecast an increase of 3.5% in Nigeria's wheat
consumption in 2022-23.
The top milling companies
- FMN, Olam, Dangote,
Charghoury and Honeywell -
control 32%, 24%, 19%, 11%
and 10% of the market share,
respectively, while all other small
millers account for 4%.
" Wheat is the third most consumed grain in Nigeria after
corn and rice, " the report explained. " The country's population
growth is driving consumption. Currently, Nigeria's
population is strongly skewed toward youth and urban areas.
Nigeria's urban population has grown steadily from 18.2%
to 52% of the total population over the past 50 years. Over
the past two years, Nigerian households have paid more for
18
Nigeria wheat imports, consumption trends
(in 1,000 tonnes)
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
7,000
8,000
Consumption
*Estimated **Projected
a range of staples - rice, varied forms garri products, yam,
noodles, and bread. However, bread price hikes have been
lower than overall food inflation. "
As a result, in June 2021, the Association of Master Bakers
and Caterers of Nigeria (AMBCN) ordered its members
to increase prices of bread and other products by 30% " due to
the prevailing economic situation in the country, " the attaché
said. Meanwhile, a prolonged crisis in Ukraine will further put
bread out of reach of the masses and will force more bakeries
to go out of business due to high operational costs - amid
low consumer purchasing power.
" Bakers identify the scarcity of foreign exchange as the
primary reason for the high cost of flour, " the attaché said.
" Many wheat importers are sourcing their foreign exchange
- especially dollars from the parallel market - about 30%
to 35% more than the official rate. "
Highly consolidated milling sector
Milling companies already were reporting increased prices
because of the Russian attack on Ukraine.
" Nigeria imports more than 50% of its wheat requirement
from Russia and other Black Sea countries, " the attaché
said. " To reduce the domestic price of wheat flour and
sustain profitability, most Nigerian flour mills buy cheaper
wheat from Russia, Latvia and Lithuania. Mills are enhancing
their practices of blending cheaper, low-quality wheat
with more expensive high-quality hard red winter from the
United States. "
Nigeria's flour milling sector is highly consolidated. In 2021,
the largest company in the sector, Flour Mills of Nigeria PLC,
acquired a majority stake in Honeywell Flour Mills PLC, its
major competitor. Flour Mills of Nigeria has a flour milling
capacity of about 12,000 tonnes a day, while the capacity of
Honeywell Flour Mills is about 2,500 tonnes a day. The two
August 2022 / World Grain / World-Grain.com
Imports
2022-23**
2021-22*
2020-21
2019-20
2018-19
2017-18
2016-17
2015-16
2014-15
Source: US Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service
http://www.World-Grain.com
World Grain - August 2022

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