Tomato scarcity: Investors seek 18month window for importation of concentrates

As a stop-gap for ameliorating the tomato scarcity, processors are seeking for 18 month window for the importation of the concentrates, according to a position paper in possession of Business Day.

They argue that those of them that could source their foreign exchange independently should be allowed to import the raw materials to reduce the suffering masses due to scarcity occasioned by the, Tuta Absoluta disease  ravaging tomatoes produce

“Factory processors, who have investments in repackaging units in Nigeria, with own-source of funds, should be allowed to use their own funds and import triple concentrate tomato paste for the next 18months period,” according to a Tomato Policy Direction Paper made available to BusinessDay.

The policy paper released last week further hinted that, “Most factory processors require more than 25 (Metric Tonnes) MT per day of triple concentrate tomato paste, hence 2016 Nigeria production is insufficient to run these factories.”

Currently, fresh tomato consumers in the country are gradually switching to pastes on account of the disease which has affected farmlands in the Northern part of the country and made it difficult to get fresh tomato produce in the market with prices shooting up by more than 120 percent.

For instance, recent Business Day market survey showed that a basket of tomatoes sold for between N15, 000 and N17, 000 about two months ago, now goes for between N38, 000- to N40, 000.

The development has made most Nigerians to have resorted to the tomato paste as supplements to make up for their meals

The paste is among the 41 items that were prohibited from accessing foreign exchange from the official window last year by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Government had last year prohibited the paste and 40 others through the import prohibition as a major trade policy instrument with the hope of improving her balance of payment deficits.

In the reckoning of the government, the items can easily be produced locally as continued importation would have adverse effects on the dwindling foreign reserves.

But concerned Nigerians and investors are calling on the government to allow importation as a stop gap to make up for the deficiency due to the disease.

The report called on the government to improve  on infrastructure for tomato delivery, fertiliser and seed availability, reduce input costs to improve profitability and to ensure that technology is up to date.

The country has almost 180 million population and tomato serves as staple food for the majority of this number. 

Nigeria is the 13th largest producer of tomato in the world and the second after Egypt in Africa, yet the country is still unable to meet local demand because about 50 percent of tomato produce is wasted due to lack storage facility, poor handling practice, and poor transportation network across the country.

The situation has resulted in an import bill of N16 billion annually in the importation of tomato paste which makes up for the shortfall in local production.

According to the report, large quantity of tomato paste consumed in Nigeria is being smuggled from Benin Republic and Niger due to duty differentials and forex bans.

Recently, there has been massive investment in tomato processing plants by major players in the agricultural sector like of Erisco Foods, Dangote and Springfield Agro in the production of tomato paste locally.

But Dangote, the biggest tomato processing recently announced its closing down operations due to inability to get enough raw materials for its production.

At the current price of tomato in the market, it is no more economical for them to produce tomato paste in the country.

“The yield of fresh tomatoes is 110MT/ha of land in California. The yield in china is 80MT/Ha of land in China. The yield in West Africa is around 5.5MT/Ha to 7MT/Ha. In North Nigeria the yield is 7MT/ha as per the FAO data,” the report states.

Nigeria’s domestic demand for tomatoes is put at 2.3 million tonnes, while it produces only 1.8 million tons annually, according to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD).

Josephine Okojie