Dangote fertiliser plant to improve Nigeria’s food exports for AfCFTA – Adebayo

The Federal Government of Nigeria has made known that the $2.5 billion Dangote Fertiliser plant will be beneficial for Nigeria’s food-related exports as Africa ventures into the African Free Trade Continental Agreement( AfCFTA).

This was made public by Nigeria’s Trade Minister, Niyi Adebayo at the commissioning of the Dangote Fertilizer Plant at Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos on Tuesday.

He also added that the plant has also introduced development into the Lekki Free Trade Zone area.

The Minister said that this is a great achievement, not just for Dangote Group, but Nigeria as a country, adding that Alhaji Dangote is a man that has been commended for so much in Africa and globally.

“Access to good quality fertiliser is pivotal to ensuring our food security objectives are met. This facility has the capacity to produce 3 billion metric tonnes of urea fertiliser per annum, in phase one alone.

“This will go a long way in improving the fertiliser gap and improving the soil. One of the goals for FG is for Nigerian to be self-sufficient in food production and also be a net exporter of food and value-added products,

“The Dangote fertiliser plant goes a long way in realising this vision not just for Nigeria but for the entire continent. It has the capacity not just to meet Nigeria’s needs, but at its current capacity, it will earn millions of dollars from exports. It will also help with the unemployment problem,” he added.

The Minister noted that since the advent of the African Continental Free Trade Agreements ( AfCFTA), cross border trade has become more attractive. AfCFTA has the capacity to boost intra African trade and is expected to integrate the African market, consisting of  1.3 billion consumers with an aggregate GDP of $3.4 trillion,

He stated that as the largest economy in Africa, Nigeria has the potential to increase its trading capacity, and generation of foreign investment, and encourage other companies to follow in this space, citing the situation of the fertiliser plant at the Lekki FTZ has also brought development to the area.