Russia to Triple Grain & Fertilizer Exports to Nigeria Over Next Few Years, Trade Official Says
14:14 20.12.2024 (Updated: 14:22 20.12.2024)
© Getty Images / Denis Abramov
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Export growth from Russia targets not only Nigeria but also the wider West African market, with plans to develop logistics and processing infrastructure to support this expansion, Russia's trade official said.
Russia can achieve a significant increase in grain and fertilizer exports to Nigeria in the coming years, with some items potentially tripling, Russia's trade representative in Abuja told Russian media.
"I believe we will be able to significantly exceed last year's figures for cereals and fertilizers, with some items expected to grow by up to three times," Russia's trade representative in Abuja, Maxim Petrov, said.
Russia aims to become a major player in the West African grain market and further strengthen its economic ties with Nigeria, potentially becoming one of its top five trading partners, the official said, given Nigeria's membership in the ECOWAS group with a total population of 450 million.
"The Nigerian business community is open to interaction with Russian companies, as evidenced by the positive dynamics of trade turnover," Petrov pointed out. Increased imports from Nigeria, including nuts, sesame, and spices, are also anticipated, according to the official.
The Russian company is considering the possibility of locating cocoa butter production in Nigeria, which seems relevant as Nigeria currently processes no more than 20% of the 270,000 tonnes of cocoa beans harvested on its territory, Petrov added.
"A Russian company is already analyzing the financial model for opening a cocoa butter factory in Lagos. A site in the Lekki Free Trade Zone [a city on a peninsula at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean] has been preselected," he noted.
