Coconut records over 500% increase in processing, demand

Dapo Olakulehin, the General Manager, Lagos State Coconut Development Authority (LASCODA), has said the coconut value chain has recorded over 500 per cent increase in processing rate in 2021. Mr Olakulehin told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the increase had influenced the huge demand for importation of coconut seedlings from neighbouring countries in […]

Dapo Olakulehin, the General Manager, Lagos State Coconut Development Authority (LASCODA), has said the coconut value chain has recorded over 500 per cent increase in processing rate in 2021.

Mr Olakulehin told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the increase had influenced the huge demand for importation of coconut seedlings from neighbouring countries in West Africa.

He noted that Lagos had more than 2,000 or more processors who demanded coconut on daily basis, but that the farmers could not meet up with the processing needs for coconut oil, art and craft, coconut bread and other products.

He noted that despite the increase in coconut production, the farmers in the value chain had not been able to meet the huge demand due to the increase in processing rate by cottage industries.

While noting that coconut production had been on the increase since 2014 by about 2.5 per cent, he said about 300 products could be derived from coconut and that each could be a stand-alone industry, thus the value chain becoming a fast growing industry.

According to him, Nigeria is spending a lot of money on coconut importation not because “we are not producing; in the actual sense, the coconut production has been on the increase since 2014 by about 2.5 per cent.

“In 2016, Nigeria produced 283,774 metric tons of coconut, and this increased to 288,615mt in 2018.”