Business

Nigeria Imports $3.49bn Fish, Eggs, Milk, Others

Published

3 years ago

August 28, 2022

Fish, poultry eggs, milk, dairy and fish products worth $3.49bn were imported into Nigeria in the last two years, according to data from the International Trade Centre.

Within the time under review, fish products worth $2.14bn were imported into the nation, while diary products valued at $1.35bn were brought into the country.

According to the international trade organisation, the fish products included: live fish, frozen fish, fish fillets and other fish meat, whether or not minced, fresh, chilled or frozen; fish, dried, salted or in brine; smoked fish; flours, meals, and pellets of fish.

They also included crustaceans, whether in shell or not, live, fresh, chilled, frozen, dried, salted or in brine, even smoked; flours, meals, and pellets of crustaceans; molluscs, even smoked, whether in shell or not, live, fresh, chilled, frozen, dried, salted or in brine; flours, meals, and pellets of molluscs.

Flours, meals and pellets of fish, crustaceans, molluscs, and other aquatic invertebrates were also imported.

Dairy products imported included: milk and cream; buttermilk, curdled milk and cream, yogurt, kephir and other fermented or acidified milk and cream; whey; products consisting of natural milk constituents, whether or not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter; butter, incl. dehydrated butter and ghee, and other fats and oils derived from milk; dairy spreads.

Imports also included cheese and curd; birds’ eggs, in shell, fresh, preserved or cooked; birds’ eggs, not in shell, and egg yolks, fresh, dried, cooked by steaming or by boiling in water, moulded, frozen, or otherwise preserved; natural honey; Turtles’ eggs, birds’ nests and other edible products of animal origin.

This is despite an acknowledgement by stakeholders that the continued importation of fish and diary products is depleting the nation’s foreign reserves and ability of local farmers to sell their products.

Recently, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mohammed Mahmood, disclosed that the nation’s yearly fish import bill of about 2.4 million metric tonnes of frozen fish was taking a toll on its foreign exchange reserves.

He said, “Nigeria is a very large country and we need about 3.6 million metric tonnes (MMT) per annum but we are able to produce only 1.2MMT through the artisanal, industrial and aquaculture.

“The deficit is being supplemented by frozen fish importation, which is being used to bridge the gap. It is not actually that we are going to have 2.5 million metric tonnes brought into the country, but we have a situation that we supplement with frozen fish imports.”

He added, “However, it is being regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria because only the CBN governor issues Form-M to anybody who wants to bring frozen fish into the country so that monetary toll in terms of foreign exchange used in importing frozen fish is to be given by the CBN.”

According to the Federal Government, there were 10 million primary and secondary fish producers in the nation. During an address at the Internal Coordination Meeting among departments of the African Union, Mahmood, stated the nation was working to reduce its fish import bill in collaboration with the private sector through backward integration.

He revealed that to improve local production and reduce imports, the government was encouraging backward integration through commercial aquaculture production for local consumption and exports.

PUNCH

Business

Dangote Refinery Reduces Fuel Price

Published

6 hours ago

August 12, 2025

Editor

Dangote Petroleum Refinery has announced a reduction in the ex-depot (gantry) price of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, commonly known as petrol, by N30, from N850 to N820 per litre, effective from August 12, 2025.

This was disclosed in a statement by the company’s spokesman, Anthony Chijiena, on Tuesday.

The 650,000-barrel-per-day plant said the move is part of its unwavering commitment to national development, assuring the public of a consistent and uninterrupted supply of petroleum products.

Business

Indian Refiners Abandon Russia For Nigerian Crude, As Dangote Refinery Relies On US

Published

1 day ago

August 11, 2025

Editor

India Refineries have abandoned Russian crude for Nigerian crude, while domestic refiner Dangote Refinery relies heavily on West Texas Intermediate crude from the United States of America.

This followed a recent sanction threat by US president Donald Trump on India over continued patronage of Russian crude.

According to Reuters, industry sources said that Indian Oil Corporation recently bought one million barrels of Nigeria’s Agbami crude for September 2025 delivery in a tender awarded to global trader Trafigura.

Also included are one million barrels of Angola Girassol, one million barrels of US Mars, three million barrels of Abu Dhabi Murban, and two million barrels of Nigerian oil, according to Reuters.

The report noted that the purchase is part of a broader sourcing spree that has seen Indian refiners secure millions of barrels from non-Russian sources post July 2025.

Meanwhile, Indian refiners secured purchases of Nigerian crude grades; the $20bn Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, is relying on around 60 percent on US and other imoorts to feed its processing units.

Data showed that the refinery imported an average of 10 million barrels in July 2025, saying it was increasingly relying on the US for its feedstock despite the naira-for-crude deal with the Federal Government, which kicked off in October last year.

According to Reuters, the Indian Oil Corp and Bharat Petroleum have bought a million barrels of non-Russian crude billed for delivery in September and October after the US pressured India to halt purchases from Russia.

Business

NNPCL Increases Fuel Price

Published

1 week ago

August 5, 2025

Editor

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, has increased the pump price of premium motor spirit across its retail outlets.

It was gathered that NNPCL retail outlets in Abuja have adjusted their fuel pump price to N955 per litre from N890.

This is the case in NNPCL retail outlets along Kubwa Expressway, Wuse and other parts of Abuja.

Similarly, the pump price hike has been implemented at filling stations in Kogi and Nasarawa.

This means that the petrol pump price was increased by N65.

This comes after independent petroleum product marketers and filling station owners in Abuja increased petrol pump prices to between N950 and N971 per litre at the weekend. Their decision followed an upward review of the ex-depot petrol price by Dangote Refinery to N858 per litre, up from N820.