Processing, packaging key to closing Nigeria’s N9trn food import gap

Nigeria’s huge food import gap presents a major opportunity for the domestic food processing and packaging industry to deepen local production, create jobs and retain more value within the economy, the Chief Executive Officer of Beta Glass Plc, Alex Gendis, has said.

Gendis cited United States Department of Agriculture, USDA, data showing that Nigeria imported approximately $6.6 billion worth of agricultural and food-related products between 2023 and 2024, compared with exports of about $2.3 billion.

He said the wider imbalance was reflected in Nigeria’s food trade between 2021 and 2024, when the country reportedly spent about N16 trillion on food imports, against N7 trillion in food exports, leaving a cumulative gap of about N9 trillion.

Gendis disclosed this in his keynote, titled, “Why Food Processing and Packaging is West Africa’s Next Industrial Frontier,” at the ongoing PROPAK West Africa 2026, an exhibition focused on packaging, plastics, printing, processing and food manufacturing.

He stated: “Nigeria remains heavily reliant on imported agricultural and food-related products; we can’t hide that. The USDA data shows that the country imported approximately $6.6 billion between 2023 and 2024, compared with exports of only $2.3 billion.

“More broadly, between 2021 and 2024, the country spent approximately N16 trillion on food imports, more than twice the N7 trillion in food exports. The most important thing I want you to take out today is the number. The N9 trillion cumulative gap represents the opportunity that a stronger domestic food processing and packaging industry can help close.”

Gendis said West Africa must increase local processing and packaging of agricultural products to reduce its dependence on imports and retain more value within the region.

He noted that the region had the land, climate, labour force and expanding consumer market needed to build a strong food processing industry, but continued to export raw commodities while importing finished products.

He said West Africa’s food import bill was expected to exceed $65 billion this year, describing the figure as both a challenge and a major industrial opportunity.

Gendis cited cashew processing as an example, saying processing volumes across West Africa increased by more than 50 per cent in 2025, led by Côte d’Ivoire, which now processes about 600,000 metric tonnes annually.

According to him, similar opportunities exist in cocoa, dairy, fish and fruit processing.

“The challenge is no longer whether we can produce agricultural commodities. It is whether we can process, package and sell them locally,” he said.