• Does Nigeria have a palm oil industry?
  • Nigeria¡¯s Palm Oil industry, which was a revenue spinner for the country in the 60s before the discovery of crude oil in commercial quantities, is still in its embryonic stage and it is in dire need of funding and transformation policies. Nigeria was in the 1960¡¯s the world¡¯s largest palm oil producer with a global market share of 43 percent.
  • How much palm oil is consumed in Nigeria?
  • In 2018, approximately 240,000 metric tons of palm oil consumed in Nigeria is used for non-food industrial purposes, while 1.1 million metric tonnes is used for food consumption related purposes. Nigeria being the fifth largest producer of palm oil in the world, needs to take the issue of sustainability in the palm oil industry very seriously.
  • Can oil palm production reduce poverty in Nigeria?
  • As demonstrated in other economies, with proper focus on production of commodities of large scale commercial values, improvement in the production of oil palm can effectively mitigate the poverty level in Nigeria and especially in the Niger Delta region.
  • Why is Nigeria a world leader in the palm oil market?
  • N igeria was considered the world leader in the palm oil market in the 1950s and 1960s when agricultural products like palm oil and cocoa were the key commodities generating foreign exchange for the country. However, this is not the case, as the sector suffers neglect.
  • What is the supply gap in palm oil in Nigeria?
  • It is difficult to assess the specific gap because of incomplete statistics, but according to the USDA in their analysis based on estimated production and import figures, the shortfall in supply (the supply gap) is about 150,000 MT of palm oil per annum, as per figure 3. Figure 3: Trend in production and consumption of palm oil in Nigeria
  • How many hectares of oil palm does Nigeria have?
  • Mr Ikuenobe explained that Malaysia has about six million hectares of oil palm. In comparison, Nigeria has less than one million hectares under improved oil palm planting, and that the rest of what Nigeria has is in ¡°uncultivated semi-natural groves¡±.