The?? food??? and??? beverage??? sub- sector?? of?? the?? Nigerian economy??? is thriving??? with?? about 14?? companies?? already listed?? on?? the?? Nigerian Stock Exchange(NSE).
The??? capacity?? utilisation in the?? food,?? beverage?? and?? tobacco?? sub-sector?? is now?? peaked?? at??? 50?? per cent,?? making???? it the most developed in?? the?? manufacturing??? sector.
The??? federal??? government?? placed??? an?? import ban?? on a wide range?? of?? agricultural?? products to?? protect? local?? industries and?? to?? conserve?? foreign?? exchange.
The?? production?? profile? may? have? also? be? buffeted?? by? favourable? market?? situation,? as? consumption??? did?? hit?? over?? 468.5??? million?? litres? of? fruit? juice? so???? far?? as??? at?? December?? last?? year?? 2011.??? That?? figure??? arrived?? at??? is?? based??? on a?? yearly?? consumption?? increase?? of?? 10??? per cent??? since 2002.
Prior to the ban,??? approximately?? 80 per cent (?? about??? 170?? million?? litres?? per?? year, valued?? at $255???? million)?? of?? Nigeria’s demand for?? fruit?? juice?? was? filled?? by??? imports.?? Interestingly,?? this?? growth in??? the?? juice?? market??? seemed?? to defy?? the?? poor??? performance???? indices??? the??? Nigerian?? economy?? has? been??? recording.?
But???? however,?? inspite??? of??? this??? growth,?? stakeholders? were optimistic that???? the?? sector??? was??? still??? bedeviled?? with??? a?? lot??? challenges, which? needed?? urgent?? government’s?? attention.
Speaking? on? the challenges? in?? the? sector,? Director-General?? of?? Manufacturers?? Association?? of? Nigeria (MAN), Mr? Yinka?? Akande?? ,stated??? that there?? were many?? challenges,?? which?? needed?? to be? addressed? before? the?? sector? could? play?? an?? important? role?? as an? engine of? economic?? growth,?? including increasing? efficiency??? and?? productivity.
According?? to? him,??? a considerable amount?? of?? fruits?? produced?? in? the? country?? were?? lost?? after harvest? due?? to?? inadequate??? infrastructure??? and capacity? for??? storage??? and??? preservation.
He?? therefore?? stressed? the? need? for?? efforts?? to? be?? geared?? towards?? increasing? production?? and?? curtailing?? post-? harvest??? losses??? through?? value? addition.
Akande?? stated: “This?? is? an? opportunity?? which? must?? be?? seized,I? am? aware? that?? many??? of? the??? research?? institutions? are??? already? working in?? this area. Improved? varieties? must? be? developed? to?? markedly? increase?? production? output??? per? hectare and?? produce? fruits?? with? desirable?? attributes
“The?? importation?? of? almost??? 95?? per? cent?? of?? the?? fruit? juice? concentrates?? revealed?? that??? a? demand-? supply?? gap??? existed?? in? the?? fruit? juice?? industry? in? Nigeria. It? is? expected? that? the? industry?? will?? integrate?? backwardly? by? investing?? in?? fruit?? juice?? concentrates??? production.? This?? is?? a?? challenge??? which the?? fruit?? juice?? industries?? must???? tackle.?? Government?? is?? prepared?? to??? fully?? support?? efforts?? at?? local?? sourcing?? of??? fruit?? juice?? concentrates.”
He?? expressed?? optimism?? that? in?? about? a? decade?? from?? now, fruit?? juice? industries?? would? be? the main? stay?? of?? the??? economy,?? noting??? that “all? states in the? country? produce? a??? variety?? of???? fruits? and?? as? such,? industrial?? investments?? which? place?? a?? high?? demand?? on? local fruit?? production??? will therefore?? greatly? impact??? on??? both? the?? rural?? and? urban??? areas of? the? country.”
The??? Director-General? of Federal?? Institute?? of??? Industrial?? Research,? Oshodi, Dr? Gloria? Elemo,? stated??? that?? post- harvest??? of??? agricultural?? outputs(? fruits inclusive)? in? Nigeria? was??? said?? to? be??? one-third?? of?? the? total? yield??? and? that? has? been?? giving?? her??? research?? institute?? a? lot? of??? concern.? She?? however? said?? the?? research?? body?? was?? putting?? in? place? many?? strategies? to? help??? farmers??? reduce??? the?? post-harvest?? losses.
Elemo?? stated? that,? however?? the??? fruit??? industry? in? the? country? has?? been?? growing? rapidly??? with? high?? prospects? for??? better?? growth.? She?? attributed the? growth?? to? increased?? activities? of? research? institutions? and? other?? support??? bodies, which? she? said? has??? led? to? improved???? varieties?? of fruits?? and?? better?? yields.
She,?? however,? indentified?? some??? of? the? serious?? challenges??? facing?? the??? sector? to include the?? unwillingness?? of? communities?? to give??? out? their lands???? for?? planting on a?? large? scale,? lack? of? good???? rural? access??? roads, high? cost?? of??? equipment,??? machinery,?? and? pesticides.
She?? expressed? hope that?? all?? the? challenges?? could??? be? overcomed? if?? all? stakeholders? and the?? government??? could make? committed?? efforts? to solve?? them.????
She? emphasised?? that? the?? nation?? should? urgently? tap? into the benefits? of?? fruit?? juice? sector??? because??? the?? socio-economic? benefits??? derivable?? from tropical?? fruits??? were?? enormous.
“Investments?? in?? tropical?? fruits? production??? will?? have??? a?? great? multiplier? effects?? as??? it will?? not? only?? improve??? the??? country’s?? economic? level,??? but? will?? also???? ensure?? creation??? of??? millions???? of?? jobs? and?? also? enhance?? rural? and?? urban? income? and?? improve?? living? standards??? of?? all? Nigerians.
“Nigeria’s?? immense?? potential in?? tropical?? fruits?? production?? if?? well recognised ,?? and??? if well?? harnessed?? ,will?? position?? the country?? in?? the lead??? in world?? trade production,” she said.