‘I started in a small shop, now I export African foods’

Chukwuogo Victor, managing director/chief executive, Voc Royal Resources Nigeria Ltd, and also chairman of Oyingbo Food Stuff Market Association, Lagos, in this interview with OLUYINKA ALAWODE, speaks on the gains and pains in food export business. Excerpts:

Business

I started the export business in 2008. The company processes and packages African food items such as ugwu, egusi, crayfish, ogbono and so on, for local and international markets. I started in a small shop in Oyingbo Market, where I do the normal selling of these food items. Then in 2009, we rented another shop in a street where we do our processing and packaging. Now, we have a factory and a warehouse for all our processing and storage.

Starting out

We started with vegetables and food items like egusi, ogbono, chilli pepper, beans, garri, etc. In 2009, when I got the idea of packaging food items, it was just a dream which I never thought would take me this far. But the company now runs a programme for the Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC).

Training

As one of the mentors, we train aspiring exporters on how to process, do proper packaging, source raw materials and label their products. Most of our products now have the National Agency for Food, Drug, Administration and Control (NAFDAC) registration numbers, meaning we can also sell in Nigeria. We have the FDA certificate to export to the USA, therefore, we have exported to countries like USA, United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa, and Australia. Today, we get invited to seminars on export to lecture or train.

Challenge

Funding is still a challenge because we have an idea that would make our packaged foodstuffs the best and most prominent of all African packaged foods. We are still SME and like most SMEs, especially in food business, we still need government support in some areas. For instance, we want the government to help us in product development such that our foods would be so internationally recognised to be served in aircrafts and in restaurants in the Western world. Since all our foods are organically grown, we already have the basics but a lot of support is still needed to get worldwide acceptance.

Prospects

In future I want to do larger exports of African foods to more countries and create employment for more young people at home. Like I always say, “what is good for export is also good for the local market.” I look forward to our food being packaged and sold in our local markets and supermarkets. We already have a factory and most of our products have NAFDAC registration numbers.

We are working hard to ensure that our packaged products go round Nigeria and the world. We are training upcoming exporters so that they too can do it right.

Advice

Upcoming exporters should realise that understanding how to process food items and market it in the international market takes a process. It’s very important so that you will not bite your finger. You also need to look out for a mentor who will guide and explain what exporting is all about. I lost a lot of money initially because I did not have a mentor, even though I knew the process theoretically. So, please look for people who will help you do it right.