The President of Calabar Chamber of Commerce, Industry, mines and Agriculture Eta Ndoma-Egba has said that as at 2018, Cross River State produced over 200,000 mt tons of Palm oil an had over 360,000 hectares under oil palm cultivation, with over 18,000 farmers involved.
Egba disclosed this at a one-day export workshop for stakeholders across the oil palm value chain by the Nigerian Export Promotion Council NEPC held at Marian Hotel Calabar.
Also, the executive director of the Nigerian export promotion council, Olusegun Awolowo said that in 2017, Nigeria imported 450,000 tons of palm oil to the tune of N116,3billion which he said is worrisome because this is a country that once controlled 60percent of global palm oil output.
Awolowo said this in a keynote address at capacity building workshop to encourage oil palm export in Cross River State.
The chief executive officer who was represented by the Trade Promotion Advisor Calabar Office, Emmanuel Etim said the annual oil palm demand of Nigeria stands at about 2.5 million metric ton whereas the local production stands at 1.25 million tons, leaving a gap of 1.25 tons, saying it was on that note that about N30billion naira is being made available to stakeholders by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
According to Awolowo, apart from the present high and still growing demand, oil palm produce is highly priced globally, especially in non-producing countries.
In his welcome address delivered by the Trade Promotion Advisor, Emmanuel Etim, he said that significantly, Cross River State has huge oil palm produce potential across the 18 local government areas, stressing that palm oil is category A strategic export products in the priority sectors in the zero oil plan.
Etim, whose address was read by Ella Onoja, assistant director NEPC, Abuja, disclosed that the capacity building workshop on the was directed towards achieving greater output for export.
In a good will message Eta Ndoma Ndoma President Calabar Chamber of Commerce Industry Mines and Agriculture said Nigeria is the 5th largest producer of oil palm globally with an annual production of 970 metric tons and that Cross River State was 2nd to largest producer after Edo State
The President, whose good will message was read by Kenneth Asim Ita, the executive secretary of the Chamber, further disclosed that Cross River state produced over 200,000 metric tons of palm oil per annum with over 18,000 farmers involved in oil Palm cultivation.
Chairman of Oil Palm Growers Association Owali Illem said the decline of oil palm production since the end of the civil war has been fast.
According to him, “We are now depending on imports to satisfy our domestic needs.” He said in 2015, Nigeria was spending about N59.1billion a year in importing oil palm produce.
MIKE ABANG Calabar
