The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has lamented that in spite of the availability of land suitable for the cultivation of tomato in the country, N11.7billion is spent yearly on the importation of tomato paste,The Nation Reports.


Its President Dr. Frank Jacobs said Nigeria is the second largest producer of tomato in Africa and  13th in the world. It still spends N11.7billion yearly on the importation of tomato paste.

“Sadly, about 750,000 of the tomatoes harvested in Nigeria go to waste as a result of poor Food Supply Chain (FSC) management, price instability, and the supply preference of farmers and middlemen for urban markets than processors due to low farm gate prices”, Jacobs said.

Meanwhile, the Managing Director of Sonia Food Industries, Mr. Nnamdi Nnodebe, has urged the Federal Government to grant indigenous manufacturers 18 months window to backwardly integrate, adding that they should also be granted access to foreign exchange (forex).