According to data from the International Trade Centre, plastics, pharmaceuticals and sugar worth $10.98bn were imported into Nigeria between 2020 and 2021, giving that the country spent $1.82bn on sugar products, $4.21bn on pharmaceutical products, and $4.95bn on plastic products.
Countries the product came from were said to be China, Korea Republic, Saudi Arabia, India, United States of America, India, Netherlands, Denmark, United Arab Emirates, Brazil, and Switzerland, et.c.
According to the ITC, sugars and sugar confectionery products that were imported included cane or beet sugar and chemically pure sucrose; chemically pure lactose, maltose, glucose and fructose; sugar syrups; artificial honey; caramel; molasses; sugar confectionery not containing cocoa, including white chocolate.
Pharmaceutical products such as dried glands and other organs for organo-therapeutic uses; extracts of glands or other organs or their secretions, for organo-therapeutic uses; heparin and its salts; other human or animal substances prepared for therapeutic or prophylactic uses; human blood; animal blood prepared for therapeutic, prophylactic or diagnostic uses; antisera and other blood fractions and immunological products; vaccines, toxins, cultures of micro-organisms (excluding yeasts), among others.
Imported plastics products included: polymers of ethylene in primary forms; silicones in primary forms; petroleum resins; cellulose and its chemical derivatives; waste, parings, and scrap, of plastics; tubes, pipes, and hoses, and fittings, among others.
Also, baths, shower-baths, sinks, washbasins, bidets, lavatory pans, seats, and covers; flushing cisterns and similar sanitary ware, of plastics; articles for the conveyance or packaging of goods, of plastics; stoppers, lids, caps, and other closures, of plastics; tableware, kitchenware, other household articles, and toilet articles, of plastics (excluding baths, shower-baths, washbasins, bidets, lavatory pans, seats and covers, flushing cisterns and similar sanitary ware), et.c.
Cane or beet sugar and chemically pure sucrose are however on Nigeria’s long list of prohibited items for importation while kitchen utensils, plastic and rubber products, polypropylene granules, sugar, cellophane wrappers, and are some of the items ineligible to access foreign exchange directly from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
As a result of CBN’s stipulations, only BUA Sugar Refinery Ltd, Golden Sugar Company and Golden Sugar Company can import sugar into the country.
The Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer, National Sugar Development Council, Mr Zacch Adedeji, in an interview with the media commented on the nation’s excessive spending on the importation of refined sugar, importing about 1.7 million metric tons.
According to him, “Currently, the demand for sugar in Nigeria is around 1.7 million metric tonnes annually and this comes from two main sectors: the food and drink manufacturing and retail markets.
“It will interest you to know that the sugar sector in Nigeria can generate massive jobs in Kwara, Kogi, Adamawa, Niger, Oyo, Ondo, and Nasarawa states. Given that each 100 hectares of sugar cane plantation can employ up to 20 workers, it is conceivable that the sugar sector can support, on a sustainable basis, up to hundreds of thousands of jobs.
“Secondly, with a fully self-sufficient sugar sector, the country can preserve over $500m of forex spent on importation of raw sugar annually. And the government can save over $5bn of foreign exchange if self-sufficiency is attained.”
