Dangote, others to start tomato processing locally

·        *Minister says there increase in quantity of food  produced

Tomato

Indications have emerged that Dangote Tomato Processing Plant and three other firms may commence operations soon following the resolve by the Nigerian Customs Service to commence implementation of the New Tomato Production Policy. The Vice President of the Nigeria Agribusiness Group (NABG), Emmanuel Ijewere disclosed this recently in Abuja.

Mr. Ijewere who spoke at the AGRA MIRA Nigeria Project stocktaking workshop said the tomato policy should ensure that importers pay higher duty for tomato paste importation, with a tariff of $1,500 per metric tonne of tomato paste imported.

He said the move would encourage backward integration and bring indigenous companies at par to effectively compete with importers of tomato paste.

While lamenting that most of the tomato processing companies initially shut down because the Nigerian Customs was not implementing the policy, he said through their engagement under the Micro Reforms (policy, law and regulations) for African Agribusiness, they were able to push for the implementation of the policy.

He pointed out that although the policy was approved by the Federal Executive Council last year, it was not implemented by the Nigerian Customs until Vice President Yemi Osinbajo compelled them, adding that from January 2019, the factories would commence operations.

He said tomatoes grown in the country were not being converted into paste, as it was cheaper for the tomato processing plants to import from abroad as the yield coming from farmers is not enough to serve the tomato factories and most of them rely on China and Italy for the paste, adding that none of the 12 factories that engaged with them were able to process tomatoes from Nigeria, as most of their factories were designed to import the paste from overseas, add water and then package.

Ijewere who alleged that most of the tomato processing companies initially were shutdown because the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) was not implementing the policy, which made it cheaper to import tomato paste from China and Italy noted that the move would encourage backward integration and bring indigenous companies at par to effectively compete with importers of tomato paste.

The president said that the policy was approved by the Federal Executive Council last year, but it was not implemented by NCS until Vice President Yemi Osinbajo compelled them to do so.

Ijewere said between 2016 and 2017, efforts were directed on rice, while in 2018, effort was on tomato and in 2019 efforts would be targeted at maize and soya value chains.