Fruit juice makers target expansion, canvass import ban retention
Fruit juice manufacturers and packagers are targeting further expansion to meet the national demand.
However, they say that achieving this feat requires sustenance of the existing import prohibition on fruit juice in retail packs to safeguard investment and employment in the industry.
Key producers of fruit juice routed their demand through the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), stressing that they are unable to compete favourably in the Nigerian market owing to poor infrastructure.
They maintain that the National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT) and other relevant research institutes must be strengthened to provide appropriate technology for fruit preservation in order to encourage local production of concentrate.
According to them, it is onus on the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture to ensure the realisation of their target between 2016 and 2018.
Nigeria’s annual demand for fruit juice is estimated at over 550 million litres, but the local supply is about 25 and 30 percent of the total.
According to Foramfera, an online research and investment platform, about 930,000 tons of citrus fruits are produced annually from three million hectares of land.
With a population of 180 million, Nigeria has the biggest market in sub-Saharan Africa, with local companies such as Chi Limited, Dansa, LaCasera, SCOA Foods, UAC, Choppee, and Danico, playing in the industry. Coca-Cola recently proposed acquisition of 40 percent stake in Chi Limited, owned by a Swiss firm, TGI Group.
ODINAKA ANUDU