With an annual global output of 5.69milion tonnes valued at $ 10.47bn (2016), Mexico, Dominican Republic, Peru is the largest producers of Avocado. Avocado is a product consumed by the affluent in Nigeria but is becoming more widely patronized for health reasons. It is produced by small-scale farmers and during the off-season is smuggled from the Benin Republic. It is a $10bn global commodity and remains a big opportunity for exports and domestic consumption.
Notwithstanding, the industry faces challenges with distribution, storage, and disease. Avocado is produced in Nigeria, albeit in subsistent quantities. The good news is that every Nigerian state has the potential to grow avocados.
The market holds a good potential with the ever increase in demand for basic uses around edible oil, salads, smoothie consumption (for health reasons) and cosmetic functions (avocado oil etc.)
In Nigeria, the major producing states are Imo, Abia, Anambra, and Enugu. As stated earlier, the industry is faced with challenges and as such farmers lose the bulk of its total output to poor storage.
Fuel scarcity has disappeared in the Lagos metropolis but is likely to resurface if nothing is done about the subsidy backlog, estimated at N1trn.
The attached slides address these and other issues in the domestic and global commodities market.
