The scarcity of tomato in Nigeria is still
ongoing
– The crisis has now fueled border
smuggling of the crop
– The alarm was raised by the All Farmers
Association of Nigeria (AFAN)
A report by New Telegragh indicates that
the current scarcity of tomatoes in
Nigeria has fueled smuggling of the crop
from neighbouring countries like Ghana
and Cameroon through land borders.
The alarm was raised by the chairman of
All Farmers Association of Nigeria
(AFAN), Lagos state chapter, Otunba Femi
Oke, who stated that the shortage of the
staple food had increased smuggling of
the product into Nigeria.
Tomatoes prices has gone up to over
100%
READ ALSO: 7 reasons why FG should not
ban the importation of tomato paste
He revealed that despite tomatoes being
in the list of 41 items prohibited by the
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for
importation, many Nigerians are now
venturing into importation of the crop
more of it ever before.
He said: ”Neighbouring West African
countries like Ghana and Cameroon are
actually benefiting from this right now.A
whole lot of farmers are out of business.
”In the meantime, people are coming up with
ways of cooking without tomatoes because
tomatoes are a staple here. I went to the
farm and I saw the devastation. It was like
the biblical plague of the locusts that
devastated Egypt.
”There was no green left. Moreover, the
moths come like thieves in the night; you
don’t even know until morning what they’ve
done.”
Meanwhile, the National Agency for Food
and Drug Administration and Control
(NAFDAC) and Standards Organisation of
Nigeria (SON) have redoubled their efforts
to curb the influx of tomato paste into the
country.
NAFDAC had already given hint that it
might ban the importation of tomato
paste from China following a startling
revelation from a research carried out by
one of its subsidiary unit – Food Safety
and Applied Nutrition (FSAN).
FSAN research revealed that out of 316
packs of tomato pastes purchased in
Lagos and tested, 218 of them had less
than the minimum requirement (28 per
cent) of tomato in them.
The minimum requirement specified by the
Codex Alimentarius Standards and
Nigerian Industrial Standards is that
tomato pastes should have at least 28
per cent tomato content.
READ ALSO: 5 delicious Nigerian sauces
that you can make without using
tomatoes
Investigations revealed that there are
warehouses in Seme and Cotonou in
neighbouring Benin Republic packed with
imported tomato paste which are ready to
serve the Nigerian market at the expense
of indigenous brands.
Tuta absoluta, popularly known as
‘Tomato Ebola’, a pest responsible for
massive destruction of tomato, has
invaded some states in Nigeria.
The federal government made this
announcement on Tuesday, May 24, while
also disclosing that Nigeria spent about
N80bn ($400m) annually on importation
of tomato paste, with many of the
imported products appearing to be
counterfeit.