World Grain - August 2022 - 20

Pasta in Nigeria
Market is growing but raw material procurement is a problem
By Jana Russnak and Tom Runge
P
asta is one of Nigeria's most important and popular
staple foods. It often is produced from mixtures
of hard and soft wheat or durum wheat.
Enzyme-based flour improvement strategies enable
mills to achieve consistently high product quality despite
greatly varying wheat grades.
Pasta is celebrating an unprecedented triumph in the
Nigerian market. Within just a few decades, Italianstyle
pasta has established itself as a favorite dish of
many Nigerians. The growing urban middle-class, in
particular, appreciates the taste and quick-and-easy
preparation of pasta and often prefers spaghetti or macaroni
to traditional foods such as rice, millet or garri, a
cassava porridge.
This culinary preference is reflected in the sales figures.
According to Statista, the per capita consumption
of pasta in Nigeria currently averages 6.5 kg, and for
the period 2022 to 2027 an annual growth rate (CAGR)
of 7.52% is predicted.
Recipes with a local touch
Country-specific tastes play an important role in preparation
methods. The list is topped by Jollof Spaghetti,
a substantial stir-fry with a spicy sauce made from tomato
puree, onions, garlic, ginger, chili, nutmeg, curry
powder and basil leaves.
The pasta often is accompanied by beef, chicken or
goat meat marinated with peanut butter and paprika
powder. In coastal areas, grilled gambas or fried catfish
give the dish an extra kick.
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Although spaghetti and macaroni are the most popular
variants, supermarkets have yards of shelves with
dried pasta in all manner of shapes, sizes and pack
volumes. Pasta manufacturers tend to concentrate on
the premium range, since it promises to create much
greater added value.
A pack of spaghetti or penne is to be found in the
food cupboard of practically every Nigerian household.
But the vast majority of pasta products are used in the
catering trade or in a communal setting rather than in
the home. Restaurants, hospitals, orphanages, company
or school canteens ... pasta dishes are a feature of
nearly all menus.
A further clientele is made up of the millions of commuters
who are obliged to travel long distances every
day to reach their place of work. In every Nigerian city,
solid lines of cars, miles long, crawl into the central
area every morning and back into the suburbs in the
evenings. In the massive population center of Lagos,
especially, the commuters are stuck in traffic jams for
hours on end at peak times and are forced to satisfy
their hunger as best they can - the easiest way being
on the way home from the office or in the car.
Stress test for pasta
Countless little snack stalls and mobile street vendors
have taken advantage of this demand and prepare pasta
dishes of all kinds on improvised cooking facilities.
More often than not, they have to contend with adverse
conditions. Sometimes the electricity supply is cut off,
August 2022 / World Grain / World-Grain.com
Photo courtesy of Muhlenchemie
http://www.World-Grain.com
World Grain - August 2022

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