Application of coconut derivatives has been gathering momentum lately, courtesy of keen entrepreneurs leveraging health benefits in food, pharmaceuticals and cosmetic use to drive sales.
With a renewed consciousness to abstain from cholesterol property and other unhealthy elements in regular cooking oils, the safe haven now resides in products such as coconut oil but the value accruing from demands like this, experts say, is eluding Nigeria for other nations serious at processing.
Even when it has 22 states with suitable soils for cultivation, Nigeria has not begun to harness the potential in the $10 billion global industry.
On coconut basis, Nigeria is number one ally to South Africa which is netting over $511,000 from Nigeria’s total import of $9.9 million over the years. The country is neither a major producer but its refined products are common in local supermarkets. Ghana gulps 25.5 percent of Nigeria’s imports so far, Indonesia 9.3 percent worth $87,000, and Vietnam 5.2 percent.
It is difficult to rest the cursor on the tiny line indicating Nigeria’s 0.5 percent of 118,445,396 world production output despite having a sizeable market demand for coconut products.
The country is near absent in the arena because trees are ageing out of fruit bearing and their replacement are not given due attention even in the largest production region, Lagos which has over time managed to buoy output to 283,744 tonnes.
The ageing is a serious concern contributing poor output but experts observe it is not as threatening as the failure to establish new plantations and build processing plants across the country.
To address the local demand in these sought-after coconut derivatives, Anthonio John-Bede, the board executive chairman at First African Coconut (FAC) says states with comparative advantage could consider out growers scheme to drive creation of new plantations as being practiced for palm oil plantations.
Opportunities abound in processing but tapping into it has to begin with a revival in planting, which he says would build the attraction for investments in the development of processing plants.
“Most coconut trees in Badagry are over 80 years old and are not producing and we don’t have any coconut plantation anywhere in the country,” John-Bede said noting that “the potential for coconut market in Nigeria now is about N10 billion.”
Agric-business enthusiast can explore opportunities in the coconut market from different angles. More than ever, coconut plantation is lacking and investments in other value chains still rely hugely on the availability of the product.
Investment worth N500, 000 on a hectare of plantation could double with each tree capable of 100 to 150 fruits each. Necessary are seedlings between 9 to 12 months old which can begin flowering from two to three years for dwarf cultivars but could take seven years for tall cultivars to start fruiting and flowering. Hybrid cultivars usually take four years. Afterwards, harvest occurs 12 months depending on the purpose it is planted to serve. For instance, a plantation of over 170 trees could promise over 21, 000 fruits annually per hectare.
Having several hectares cultivated would translate to a lot of cash whether from sales to processors or export.
With organic derivatives of coconut gaining global attention, international pricing are responding to that thirst as prices for dehusked coconut hovers over $227 and $400.
Investors could also jostle for opportunities in chains such as toddy production, an area analysts adjudge as one of the most profitable value added products from coconut. The juice extracted from infant coconut inflourescent is a healthy drink rich in vitamins and minerals and could be packaged as handy drinks in cans and pet bottles. It can be further processed into coconut palm sugar, coconut vinegar, jaggery, flower syrup among others and producing 1,000 to 10,000 litres per day is achievable according to analyst.
Other areas deserving of exploits are coconut water production, coconut kernel processing, virgin coconut oil, by-products processing as well as palm stem processing.
Coconuts are one of the few fruits with no waste and every part is used from the outer soft shell to the hard shell used for making bowls, drinking cup and decorations such as jewellery, buttons and ornaments.
In its own way of evolving the coconut production in Nigeria, FAC has started planting since April 2018 and it targets two million seedlings in Lagos. Ten other states are in line with focus on 10,000 hectares each in the next 10 years. The opportunity is for agri-business enthusiasts to take.
Although, not a short term investment, it’s the beginning of building the resource base for tapping into processing market.
