Nigerian agro exports to Europe worth over $700 million have been reported to be rejected due to its low quality.
This was revealed by the President and Chairman, the Board of Trustees, African Export–Import Bank, Afrixembank, Prof. Benedict Oramah when he spoke at the official commissioning of the Africa Quality Assurance Centre (AQAC) in Sagamu, Ogun State.
The AQAC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Afreximbank’s Fund for African Export Development (FEDA) and will help process African made goods of the highest quality thus strengthening their competitiveness and providing confidence to buyers and consumers alike.
Oramah further mentioned that the Afrixembank was working towards addressing this economic mishap which has put several Agro-processing exporters in jeopardy.
He stated: “Due to poor quality over $700 million worth of agro-produce are rejected from Europe alone. About 76 per cent of exports from Africa are rejected annually. We are working with a lot of organisations to create the framework for the harmonisation of standards across the continent”.
This is certainly disturbing for the agro sector seeing the industry accounted for 4.96 percent of Nigeria’s total foreign trade in H1, 2022.
Further data also revealed that agro-food items worth N343.4 billion was exported In the first half (H1) of 2022 showing an increase of 17.3% from N292.8 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2021.
Speaking further, Oramah noted that the opening of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) would go a long way to transform African businesses as it would open up new markets across the continent.
The Afrixembank Boss however, reiterated the need for African products to meet international standards in order to make their mark in countries around the world thus the reason the organization set out to work with a lot of firms to create a framework for harmonization of standards across the continent.
