Miller Magazine Issue: 116 August 2019

NIGERIA 89 MILLER / AUGUST 2019 ricultural tractors, agricultural chemicals, irrigation systems; food (grain and fruit) processing and stor- age systems. Post-harvest losses, which the Nigerian Government currently estimates to be about 60%, re- mains a major setback to food availability. Major agricultural commodities produced in the country are cocoa, peanuts, sesame, kola nuts, palm oil, corn, rice, sorghum, millet, cassava (tapioca), yams, rubber, cattle, fish and timber. DEMAND FOR WHEAT INCREASING Nigeria is a net importer of food and major agri- cultural products. Bread, semolina, pasta and oth- er wheat flour-based products are staples in Nige- ria and the demand for the products has continued to increase. Currently, the shares of wheat flour for bread, semolina, pasta and others, are estimated at 60 percent, 20 percent,10 percent, and 10 percent, respectively. Nigeria’s wheat consumption is mostly filled by lo- cal production augmented by imports valued at about $1.5 billion in 2017 and $1.7 billion in 2018. Local wheat production remained inadequate and domes- tic supplies of substitute staples within Nigeria and neighboring countries have not kept pace with de- mand. USDA forecasts Nigeria’s wheat consumption in MY 2019/20 at 5.26 million metric tons (MT). USDA forecasts Nigeria’s wheat production in mar- keting year (MY) 2019/20 (July-June) to reach 60,000 metric tons (MT), unchanged from the production fig- ure for marketing year 2018/19. The area harvest- ed to remain at 60,000 hectares, with yields holding steady at one metric ton per hectare, according to USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) report pub- lished in May. Here is some important detail from the report: