Participants at the Agro-Commodity Export Master Class workshop

By: Theresa Igata

The recent ban of some food items from Europe has been very embarrassing and impacting negatively on the contribution of Agro commodities to the national economy. This is a setback for a nation that desperately needs to expand its export basket to boost domestic agricultural activities and create jobs.

This formed part of the discourse as the Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce (NACC) in collaboration with Multimix Export House organised a 2-Day Agro-Commodity Export Master Class workshop for Agri-Business owners.

From available statistics, only few countries in the world can match Nigeria’s endowment in the area of Natural resources as Nigerian agricultural commodities rank among the best in the world.

According to Joyce Akpata, Director-General, NACC, “We are constantly building partnerships for expansion into foreign markets. Market knowledge and intelligence are pivotal for success in agro commodity export thus minimizing risks and protecting highly valued assets hence this collaboration,” she said.

She reiterated the Chamber’s commitment to capacity building, “this workshop was informed by our experiences in commodity trade, fairs, trade missions and export management expos.”

Dr. Obiora Madu, Chief Executive Officer and Programme Director of Multimix Academy, noted that the biggest problem with export in Nigeria is that of shipping poor quality produce and this can be taken care of if we can spend time to study the commodities we wish to export.

“Agro-Commodity export can be very profitable if things are done right in terms of quality particularly and in other areas of risk management and finance.”

“Considering the yearnings of participants, we were thinking of a major conference on commodity export to widen the reach and assist the sector with the requisite skill-sets for success,” he said.

The 2-day workshop was focused on export commodities; Sesame Seeds, Ginger, Cashew Nuts and Products, Shea Nuts/Butter and Processed Vegetable & Food Products was designed to equip stakeholders, produce merchants, infant exporters, existing exporters, commodity brokers, foreign buyers, investors, financiers and government export facilitating and inspection agencies with the information and knowledge to take good decisions to enhance their profitability.