By Abiola Olawale
The Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on Tuesday, delved into the reason Nigeria lost its place in the agricultural export markets and became a net importer of food.
Okonjo-Iweala, who once served as Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, said that the country was a major contributor to the agricultural exports market until the economy shifted towards petroleum exploitation.
According to her, the development collapsed the stronghold of Nigeria in the agricultural exports market with the country’s world market share for agricultural products dwindling to less than 0.1 percent,
She stated this during the inauguration of the $1.2 million program to improve the export standard of Nigeria’s sesame and cowpea products.
Speaking further, the director-general highlighted that trade-related issues on the supply side are part of the reason for Nigeria’s untapped potential.
She noted that Nigeria is the leading producer and consumer of cowpeas globally and a major producer of sesame, exporting to the EU, Türkiye, Japan, South Korea, and other Asian countries. However, Nigerian exports of cowpeas and sesame have faced increasing rejections in various international markets due to failure to meet the Standard Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) requirements.
In her words, “We all know the story about Nigeria being a significant exporter of palm kernel, groundnuts, palm oil, cotton, and cocoa, but the country has since become a net importer of many of these goods.
“In fact, Nigeria has not only lost out in agricultural export markets, it is a net food importer spending about billions a year for goods, many of which we can also produce here.
“Nigeria used to be a formidable agricultural exporter. Up to the mid-1960s, the country’s share of world agricultural exports was more than one percent.
“However, agricultural exports collapsed as the economy shifted towards petroleum exploitation, and by the mid-1980s Nigeria’s world market share for agricultural products has dwindled to less than 0.1 percent,”
