*Six vessels will ferry 197, 209 tonnes of wheat valued at N72billion ($103million) to Nigerian ports beginning from this week.
The country’s millers had ordered for 6.5million tonnes of the grain in 2022 to enable them meet production demand. With the country’s wheat milling capacity at more than 8.2 million metric tonnes, Nigeria is the fifth largest U.S wheat importer in the world as at 2022 as wheat for bread, semolina, pasta, noodles, biscuits (cookies) and others remains at 60per cent, 20per cent, 10per cent and 10per cent respectively.
At the Lagos Port’s Greenview Nigerian Development Limited (GNDL), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA)’s Shipping Position revealed that Glovis Maple would offload 30,000 tonnes; Genco Vigilant, 17,255 tonnes, while Desert Ranger and Desert Rhapsody are expected to discharge, 54,999tonne and 50,620tonnes respectively at Apapa Bulk Terminal Limited (ABTL) this week.
Also at Rivers Port, the shipping data indicated that Stoja would berth with 30,000tonnes, while Petrel Bulker would offload 14,335 tonnes on Saturday. In October, three vessels discharged 95, 000 tonnes at Lagos, Calabar and Rivers ports.
The NPA’s shipping data stated that Desert Honour offloaded 45,000tonnes at ABTL at the Lagos Port Complex; ETG Southern Cross, 16,000 tonnes at Calabar Port and Bubba Boosh laden with 34,000 tonnes discharged at BUA Ports & Terminal Limited, Rivers Port, while four ships laden with 124,739 tonnes of the grain also berthed at the Lagos Port Complex in September.
Doric Javelin had offloaded 25,600 tonnes at Josepdam terminal in Tincan Island Port, while Bold Voyager with 33,778tonnes; Fortune Hero, 8,753tonnes and Desert Harrier, 56,608 tonnes discharged the grain at ABTL.
It was gathered that the imports from United States woukd reach $600million this year following the Ukraine and Russian war where Nigeria import durum wheat variety. The country’s millers took delivery of 1.67million tonnes of wheat valued at $526million in 2021 feom the country.
Also, Nigeria has imported 553,000 tonnes of wheat valued at ($289.3million) from India and Argentina this year. Argentina supplied 53,000 tonnes and India 500,000 tonnes as price of the grain hit $522 per metric tonne.
The country, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), took delivery of N258,31 billion between January and March, 2022 before the outbreak of Russia- Ukraine war through the nation’s seaports.
Meanwhile, the National Wheat Farmers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria (NAWFPMAN), said that it would cultivate over 200,000 hectares of wheat this season through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s Anchor BorrowersProgramme (ABP).
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The ABP scheme, according to CBN, had empowered wheat farmers with the new heat-tolerant varieties of seeds capable of increasing production per hectare to a minimum of four tonnes per hectare.
The association stressed the need to meet the cravings of Nigerians in the full value chain of wheat production in the country.
The association, which comprises of small holder farmers, processors and marketers across Nigeria, who are major stakeholders in wheat production, benefited in the last Dry Season Wheat Farming CBN intervention of the ABP.
National President of the association, Alhaji Adamu Ardo urged the Federal Government to boost wheat production in Nigeria, with a view to helping solve the problem of wheat importation in Nigeria which will help reduce cost of cost of wheat-based products.
He explained in Abuja that the association benefited from the CBN’s ABP last season and cultivated over 15,000 hectares of wheat, which was bought by Flour Millers Association of Nigeria (FMAN), adding that the development resulted into cutting down of wheat importation by flour millers to about half of their previous year’s imports.
Ardo noted that what the current administration achieved in the area of selfsufficiency in rice production could be replicated in wheat production.
