Markets

Nigeria Can Overtake Kenya’s $1bn Per Annum Perishable Cargo Export

Published

8 years ago

November 4, 2016

Nigeria Can Overtake Kenya’s $1bn Per Annum Perishable Export

Nigeria can generate over $3billion annually in the next two years from perishable farm produce export to Europe and other destinations with good freight system, recommended farm input and packaging.

The Managing Director/ CEO of ABX World Nigeria Limited, Captain John Okakpu, whose company is into export of vegetables and other farm produce to Europe through air freighting, made the remark.

Okakpu said currently Kenya exports about $1 billion worth of vegetables per annum to Europe but Nigeria has better climate, has variety of farm produce and can generate and export perishable goods than any other country in Africa.

According to him, this is the most viable alternative to the dwindling oil revenue adding that in farming more people are engaged so it would boost employment and in addition put money in the pockets of ordinary people. “So it is a means of delivering grassroots people from poverty”, he added.

On how to actualise this objective, Okakpu said state governors should embrace agriculture programme and support their citizens, noting that for instance, Anambra State has embraced the agriculture programme and the state has started exporting pumpkin leaves and other farm produce overseas. He said the state government should empower their people who engage in agriculture and some states that have goods that are highly sought after like the special pepper from Nsukka, known as yellow pepper, should develop and grow them in commercial quantity for export.

“The bottom line is the leadership. We had a discussion with the governor of Anambra state. I gave them proposal and they approved it and we agreed to work together. The agreement was that they needed to train and empower their people. For other people to be attracted to come and do business, create some kind of subsidy. And the governor agreed to this proposal. We first had to train first to enable people meet up to some certain standards to enable them to export their products. The government needs to empower its people and look at their social needs based on the standards of the international community.” Okakpu said.

He noted that if every state government is willing to empower its citizens with N100 million, it will make positive turnaround in the lives of the beneficiaries because they will become exporters of farm produce that will generate huge revenues for them.

Okakpu narrated how the people of Enugu state are preparing to grow yellow pepper or Nsukka pepper all year round in order to meet its demand in Europe.

“I had a discussion with Enugu state government about exporting yellow pepper. I have invested so much in this area, taken a lot of engineers there, they did a lot of survey but the importers said the problem is with sustaining the produce, or else they will not be interested. “So, we had to look for a way to make it sustainable. They are here now and we have brought them to Nigeria for training. We have gone to Nsukka, spent weeks and nights.

I slept with the farmers in their houses to see how we can make this work and we found a solution. Their problem is water. When there is no rain, what happens next? We called engineers all the way from Benin and they came to Nsukka and spent four days. They went to all the areas and they came up with a solution. We set up ten boreholes.

“The next was manure. American and Europeans like organic products. Natural manures can go a long way and they use poultry feeds but the best form of manure is fish waste. So, we thought we could get the borehole, set up a fishery where we can raise fish; we sell the fish and drain the water. The water drained will provide manure for the pepper. A lot of people are ready to set up fish farms; we have manures from the fish farms,” he said.

It is projected that by next year the area would start exporting yellow pepper in commercial quantity to Europe and the US. Okakpu noted also that every state has some variety of farm produce to export to the world if the state governments could give their support.

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Samed Olukoya

Is the CEO/Founder of Investors King Limited. A proven foreign exchange research analyst and a published author on Yahoo Finance, Businessinsider, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur.com, Investorplace, and many more. He has over two decades of experience in global financial markets.

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Crude Oil

Dangote Mega Refinery in Nigeria Seeks Millions of Barrels of US Crude Amid Output Challenges

Published

2 days ago

May 16, 2024

Samed Olukoya

The Dangote Mega Refinery, situated near Lagos, Nigeria, is embarking on an ambitious plan to procure millions of barrels of US crude over the next year.

The refinery, established by Aliko Dangote, Africa’s wealthiest individual, has issued a term tender for the purchase of 2 million barrels a month of West Texas Intermediate Midland crude for a duration of 12 months, commencing in July.

This development revealed through a document obtained by Bloomberg, represents a shift in strategy for the refinery, which has opted for US oil imports due to constraints in the availability and reliability of Nigerian crude.

Elitsa Georgieva, Executive Director at Citac, an energy consultancy specializing in the African downstream sector, emphasized the allure of US crude for Dangote’s refinery.

Georgieva highlighted the challenges associated with sourcing Nigerian crude, including insufficient supply, unreliability, and sometimes unavailability.

In contrast, US WTI offers reliability, availability, and competitive pricing, making it an attractive option for Dangote.

Nigeria’s struggles to meet its OPEC+ quota and sustain its crude production capacity have been ongoing for at least a year.

Despite an estimated production capacity of 2.6 million barrels a day, the country only managed to pump about 1.45 million barrels a day of crude and liquids in April.

Factors contributing to this decline include crude theft, aging oil pipelines, low investment, and divestments by oil majors operating in Nigeria.

To address the challenge of local supply for the Dangote refinery, Nigeria’s upstream regulators have proposed new draft rules compelling oil producers to prioritize selling crude to domestic refineries.

This regulatory move aims to ensure sufficient local supply to support the operations of the 650,000 barrel-a-day Dangote refinery.

Operating at about half capacity presently, the Dangote refinery has capitalized on the opportunity to secure cheaper US oil imports to fulfill up to a third of its feedstock requirements.

Since the beginning of the year, the refinery has been receiving monthly shipments of about 2 million barrels of WTI Midland from the United States.

Crude Oil

Oil Prices Hold Steady as U.S. Demand Signals Strengthening

Published

2 days ago

May 16, 2024

Samed Olukoya

Oil prices maintained a steady stance in the global market as signals of strengthening demand in the United States provided support amidst ongoing geopolitical tensions.

Brent crude oil, against which Nigerian oil is priced, holds at $82.79 per barrel, a marginal increase of 4 cents or 0.05%.

Similarly, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude saw a slight uptick of 4 cents to $78.67 per barrel.

The stability in oil prices came in the wake of favorable data indicating a potential surge in demand from the U.S. market.

An analysis by MUFG analysts Ehsan Khoman and Soojin Kim pointed to a broader risk-on sentiment spurred by signs of receding inflationary pressures in the U.S., suggesting the possibility of a more accommodative monetary policy by the Federal Reserve.

This prospect could alleviate the strength of the dollar and render oil more affordable for holders of other currencies, consequently bolstering demand.

Despite a brief dip on Wednesday, when Brent crude touched an intra-day low of $81.05 per barrel, the commodity rebounded, indicating underlying market resilience.

This bounce-back was attributed to a notable decline in U.S. crude oil inventories, gasoline, and distillates.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a reduction of 2.5 million barrels in crude inventories to 457 million barrels for the week ending May 10, surpassing analysts’ consensus forecast of 543,000 barrels.

John Evans, an analyst at PVM, underscored the significance of increased refinery activity, which contributed to the decline in inventories and hinted at heightened demand.

This development sparked a turnaround in price dynamics, with earlier losses being nullified by a surge in buying activity that wiped out all declines.

Moreover, U.S. consumer price data for April revealed a less-than-expected increase, aligning with market expectations of a potential interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve in September.

The prospect of monetary easing further buoyed market sentiment, contributing to the stability of oil prices.

However, amidst these market dynamics, geopolitical tensions persisted in the Middle East, particularly between Israel and Palestinian factions. Israeli military operations in Gaza remained ongoing, with ceasefire negotiations reaching a stalemate mediated by Qatar and Egypt.

The situation underscored the potential for geopolitical flare-ups to impact oil market sentiment.

Crude Oil

Shell’s Bonga Field Hits Record High Production of 138,000 Barrels per Day in 2023

Published

2 days ago

May 16, 2024

Samed Olukoya

Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo) has achieved a significant milestone as its Bonga field, Nigeria’s first deep-water development, hit a record high production of 138,000 barrels per day in 2023.

This represents a substantial increase when compared to 101,000 barrels per day produced in the previous year.

The improvement in production is attributed to various factors, including the drilling of new wells, reservoir optimization, enhanced facility management, and overall asset management strategies.

Elohor Aiboni, Managing Director of SNEPCo, expressed pride in Bonga’s performance, stating that the increased production underscores the commitment of the company’s staff and its continuous efforts to enhance production processes and maintenance.

Aiboni also acknowledged the support of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and SNEPCo’s co-venture partners, including TotalEnergies Nigeria Limited, Nigerian Agip Exploration, and Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited.

The Bonga field, which commenced production in November 2005, operates through the Bonga Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel, with a capacity of 225,000 barrels per day.

Located 120 kilometers offshore, the FPSO has been a key contributor to Nigeria’s oil production since its inception.

Last year, the Bonga FPSO reached a significant milestone by exporting its 1-billionth barrel of oil, further cementing its position as a vital asset in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.