Flour Millers To Begin Shipment Of N965bn Wheat From Europe
Nigerian flour millers ordered 2.01 million tonnes of wheat worth N965 billion ($643 million) from Europe after exhausting Russia’s 2024 quota. The government supports wheat farming, subsidizing seeds and fertilizers for 300,000 farmers. Cross River joined wheat-producing states. With imports and local production, Nigeria aims to stabilize supply despite global market shifts.
Nigerian flour millers have ordered for 2.01 million tonnes of wheat valued at N965 billion ($643 million) from Europe, following bad weather in Russian, one of the major suppliers.
It was gathered that the bid to secure cheap wheat from Russia by Nigerian importers was no longer realistic after they have exhausted their three million tonnes quotas in 2024.
Findings from European Commission’s data revealed that Nigeria had continued to top the list of African export destinations in the 2025 marketing year, accounting for 15.1 per cent of total exports of milling wheat, followed by Morocco, 1.51 million tonnes, Algeria, 947,055 tonnes and Egypt, 882,383 tonnes.
In February, the millers exported 209,944 tonnes of wheat valued at N194 billion ($118 million) from Russia as six vessels have managed to berth with at the Lagos ports.
According to the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA)’s shipping position, 293, 791 tonnes of the grain valued at N141 billion ($94 million) were ferried to the Lagos Port’s terminals by five vessels.
The shipping position revealed that Apapa Bulk Terminal Limited (ABTL) took delivery of 291,891 tonnes from Desert Moon with 48,719 tonnes; Florentia, 57,200 tonnes; Unity Discovery, 57,029 tonnes, Copenhagen Commerce, 56,844 tonnes; Calypso N, 54,999 tonnes, while Sea Pearl, 19,000 tonnes offloaded its grain at the Greenview Development Nigeria Limited.
Also, Sweet lady II, 37,400 tonnes and Allegra, 29,701 tonnes berthed at Greenview Development Nigeria Limited (GDNL) of the port, while Alda offloaded 31,000 tonnes at Josepdam, Tincan Island Port in January.
Recall that Head of the Russian Grain Union (RGU), Arkady Zlochevsky had said that quota exports to Nigeria had exceeded 3 million tonnes in the current exporting season as demand from the country had been increased due to its rapidly growing population.
The grain union said that farmers would sell between 48 and 49 million tonnes of grain overseas in 2025, down from 72 million tonnes in 2024, following the decline in exports.
However, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari has said that wheat farmers were expecting bumper harvest this year based on the Federal Government’s intervention in the phase one of dry season wheat production of 2024-2025, which ended on December 2024.
According to him, about 300,000 farmers were supported to cultivate 150,000 hectares, which meant one farmer per half a hectare.
Kyari stressed that the Federal Government subsidised wheat seeds to the tune of 75 per cent, with farmers paying 25 per cent of the seed amount.
He noted: “Then, in terms of fertilisation, it’s also 50-50, just like we did last year, 50 per cent subsidy of fertiliser to the farmers.
We are waiting for the vegetative growth and also subsequently, the harvest sometime around March and April 2025. “We have a lot of expectations this year because the farmers have expressed desires to go into wheat more than ever before, simply because of the attraction and the profit.”
The minister said. Kyari explained that Cross River had become a wheat producing state, saying this was the first time a southern state joined the other 15 northern wheat producing states.
The minister said: “It is a pilot scheme that we’re going to have in the northern part of Cross River. Wheat, of course, is a crop that is cultivated in cold season and under irrigation.
In addition to the dry season, we also intend to pilot wet season wheat cultivation in highland areas that are temperate, that are colder, places like Taraba , Plateau , and the same Cross River.
“We have a harvest that far exceeds that of the previous year in all the major staple crops that we have cultivated during the wet season in 2024.
“Going forward, we also have engaged and have launched the dry season cultivation of 2024 through 2025.”
Recall that in November 2024, about 241,543 tonnes of the grain valued at N103 billion ($60.38 million) were ferried to Calabar, Tincan Island and Lagos ports in nine vessels.
It was revealed that local price of the grain is N452,400 per tonne, while imported price stands at $250 per tonne as at September 2024.
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Source : New Telegraph
