SUNDAY PUNCH
21
JUNE 12. 201 1
Nigeria to spend N802bn on food importation FAO EMEKA EZEI{IEl
up from last year's reduced aop
According to Abbasslan, the world production of c~~ grains is set to climb by 3 .9 per cent, exceeding the record set in 2008. MO$t of Ihe increase is expected from the and Russia n Federation the other members of the Commonwealth of Independenl States. He ~id, ~Al l hough p!l!liminary world paddy production prospects are for a re co rd harvest 01 .463.8 m11lion tannes - 1I two per cent inCll.'iI$(> over IasI year on expectations of improved we,,!her condItions. World cereals slocks at the close of the crop sellsons in 2012 lire put al 494 million lonnes. up only by two per cent from shalply reduced opening
IGERIA wiD spend aoout N802bn on the importation of food ilems this ~'f!ar 10
lIugmenl the shortfall
in the loc.al supply.
The latest Report on the Global Food Prices, just released by !he Food and Agriculural Organi~tion. "Iso attributed the tus h emount 10 the rising food prices across
the world It said the.t the global food import bill was expected 10 reach a
new record 01N200tn
($1.2901n) this yea! This amount 15 20 pel !;En! higher than the global food
imports In 2010. Currently,
Nigeria spends abou t N4bn on lood imports annually. Of thIS amount. about NI55bn is spen t on the importation rice. the most popular staple food In Nigeria.
The Federal Mini~ry 01 Agricul ture put the lImounl spent on food imports. mainly rice. wheal, sugar and nsh products in 2009. al
about N555bn According
to
more
than
N400bn W<l5 injt>cted inlo the seclor in 2009. while in 2010.
a.griuIlture accounted lor only 3 .7 per cent o llhe budgetary alIocallon (rew rrent N34 4bn and capilal N49 9bnJ However, between 1977 and 2005. lhe govvnment's funding for th( sector '~'35 charactensed by inconsistency. For inst,lnce, in 1977, agtiwlture's share 01 Ihe nlltional budget was less Ihan one per cent; in 1980, 1.3 percent, 1982,4.2 per cen t: 1983. six per cenl: 1984. two per cent; 1985, five per cen t, 1993, 3 .2 per cent, 2000. one per cent; 200t. 4 2 percent and 2005, 1.6 per cent. In an interview with our corresponde nt. the Secretary GeneRlI. federation 01 AgriwlluRlI Commodity Associaliom 01 Nigeria, Mr. Akin GbadamO$i. said ktck of political wiU on the pari of the government to implement past and C\lnent agricultural policies w"s responsible for the country's inability to achieve sell-5Ufflciency in food ploduction He 5aId, ~Nlgeria hll5 no business importing food items The problem is th"! the budget Is not beingJudlciously implemented. lOere is need for the government to work with commodity associ"tions to be lIb!e 10 achieve
May 25 . 20 11
Buyi ng Selljog $ 153 .50 153 .50 £ 24 7.47 247 .4 7 € 199_00 203 .00
fil_ (j'lllj~
CBNasatNay2520 11
YEN
1_8686
WAUA 24 1.8697
$
153 .59
SAR
40.9497
CFA
0 .3 18
GBP
247 .9096
INSIDE
""'".
or
investigations.
Ars t Bank as at
meaningful «!Suit ~Currendy.
agriculture contribu tes 43 per cen t to Nigeri"'s GDP while cocoo contributes 23 per cent Formerly. Ghanll and Nigeria were the world's 111rge51. exporter of cocoa. But the story has changed for the worse due to poor impiementahon 01 government policies and programmes MNigerill is blessed with more arable land than the coun lnes from wnere we import food items. The fertilizer Ihat is supposed to help peaslll1t farmers boo5t COCOo!I produdion is not at the reach of the ordinary farmers, ~ he added, The FAD stated, ~ I n International food tRlde. the global food import bill is expected 10 reach a new record of $L29tn in 20 11 . whICh IS 2 1 per cent more Ihan in 2010. The Low-Income Food Deficit Countries and the Leasl Developed Countries lAIOuJd be hlItdest -hit since they would li kely have to spend respectively 27 and 30 per
cent more on foodPimports than last veaf}'" • on "Expend itun!5 foodsluffs for imported vu lnerable cou ntries touid aCCOllnt fOf roughly 18 per amt of their total import bills comp.ued to a world average of around seven per cent. High lind volatile agricultuml commodily prices are likely 10 prevail for the rest of th is year and into 2012 The repor t said a rundown on Invenlorles for the majority of food crops was one of Ihe major reasons behind th e rising gl~l food prices II noted. !he next few montM will be crillcal in determining how the major crops will fare this year Although prospects lire enCOUl1lo9ing in 5Offil' countries such as Ihe Russian Federation and Ukraine; lveather conditlom. fea turing too !lllle and in some cases too much rain, could hamper maize and wheat yields in EUrope and North America. However, the Oireclor of FAO's ~\arkets and Trade Division. Mr. David Hallam, said. Ille ge neral situation ft
for aglicultural crops and food commodities istighl with world prices at stubbornly high levels, posing a threat to many low-income food defleil countries.The internlltionai food prices, which earlier th is yell! 5O<lred 10 levels seen in the 2007·2008 food crisis, dropped by a modest one per cent in May. The FAO Food Price Index averaged 232 points in May from a revised estimate of 235 points in April but was slill 37 per cent above May 2010 The declines In inlemlltionai prices of cereals and sugar were responsible for Ihe slight decrease in the May index, thereby offsetting Increases in mea! and daIry prices. Current prospecls 10f' cereals In 201 1 point to a reco rd harvest of 2,3 15 mUlion tomles - a 3 .5 per cent increase over 2010, whkh marked" one per cent drop ove r 2009. H()UIeVer, the FAD's grain analyst, ~k AbdoJreuI Abbassian, has said tnat the global wkeat output is el<pected to be 3 .2 per cent
MOemand for nttellis hlls 1Iiso been Increasing so that Ihe 2011 CTOP, even al retord levels, is expected to barely meet consumption. providIng supporl 10 prices. But the Russian Federation's announcement Ihat it .....ill remove its cerellls export ban from July 2011 could help reheve some of that pressure, "In the oi1seeds mlilkel. supplies in 2011n2 mlly not be sufficient 10 meet growing oil and melll demand, implying further reductions in global invento ries -By conb"ast. the global supply and demand balanc~ for suga r points to some improvements, suppo rted by large lInticipated production in 20lonOil. which is likely to surpass consumption lor the first time since 2007/2008; he added. Regarding meat. high feed prices. the FAO said thll l disease outbreaks and depleted animal inventories would hmi1 Ihe expo!lnslon of global meat production to 294 million tonnesin20 11only one per cenl more than 2010, The inlernauona! meat price index hit 1I new record at 183 points in May 20 11 and a combination of strong import demand and limited export avaiiabilily pointed to a furth er finning of prices in the nexl few months. II noted. ~ FoIlowing two consecutive years of low prices, fish markels have rebounded Ihls year Production in 20 II is heading for 1I record ho i prices are likely to be supported by a strong demand from the developing countries." W
Food production:
BTitish firm to assist Nigeria 's farm ers ~-
p. 58
Nigeria , others to sign water charter to boost agriculture -P.58