The Avocado Society of Nigeria has urged the government to deploy resources toward harnessing the development of avocado cultivation, as it has the potential to generate N12 billion (€30 mln) in export revenues annually.
The chief executive officer of the group, Ambassador Adeniyi Bunmi, in an exclusive interview with LEADERSHIP, said Avocado is currently doing very well in southern and central parts of the country but not on commercial basis. ‘‘This is majorly in South East, South West and South South states, in particular Imo, Ogun, Abia, Enugu, Ebonyi, Edo, Akwa Ibom, Delta, Cross river and Oyo. Some farms are available but less abundant in Lagos, Bayelsa, Taraba and Rivers state."
“Avocado is very marketable in the country because of its numerous health and nutritional benefits. The fruit has been doing well in our neighboring countries, most especially Kenya, who are in the top ten of exporters of the fruit in the world. Marketing the fruit is part of the responsibility of the association.”
According to the CEO, Avocado in Nigeria has the capacity of generating over 12 billion naira annually, both from industrial use and exportation. He said that the profitability of avocado is higher than many other tropical fruits.
“In 2018, Kenya exported around 72,000 tons of avocados which is valued at approximately 118 million dollars. Fortunately for us, the demand for avocado is set to rise. Consumers of Avocado in China Europe and USA are increasing vastly. I can assure you that Nigeria is set to make a lot of fortune from exporting Avocado. In 2019, USA despite her big production of avocado still imported $2.35 billion worth of fresh avocados.’’
Other importers include Netherlands, France, Canada, Spain, Germany and Japan. What I’m sure of is that we can earn more if the capacity and the potential of the fruit is well harnessed” he added. If well harnessed, Avocado farming will generate jobs for farmers and pickers and employment will also emerge off the farm.
Source: leadership.ng
