Annualy?! Nigeria spends N165bn on fruit juice from other countries
– Nigeria spends N165 billion annually to buy fruit juice from other countries
– “Importation of concentrates has adversely affected local fruits cultivation for juice processing.”
Nigeria spends a staggering amount of N165 billion to import fruit juice, accoring to Frank Jacobs, the president of the Manufacturers’ Association of Nigeria (MAN).
Mr Jacobs expressed his discontent with the country’s expenditure on fruit concentrates and juices despite of the high rate of local fruit production and a thriving juice market.
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The MAN president was represented by Nwabueze Anyanwu, who read out a paper entitled “Promoting Investments in Concentrate Production” at a workshop organised by the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) in Owerri on Friday.
According to the data provided by the organisation, the local farmers loose up to one billion dollars annually and about 60% of their produce as a result of lack of processing facilities.
Among other factors causing the deterioration of the situation are limited demand and logistics challenges such as handling and transporting the fruits to the urban centres.
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“Importation of concentrates has adversely affected local fruits cultivation for juice processing,” the MAN president said.
He noted that Nigeria boasts a wide range of raw materials, a large market, a ready domestic concentrate and good export potentials to attract investment in the project.
To address low quality of concentrates he suggested to use high-yield seedlings, improved technology and technical services and better education for farmers.
He call ed on the government to ensure policy consistency to avoid a repetition of policy summersaults of yesteryear.
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