The Nigerian government has directed that FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria, Chi Limited, TG Arla Dairy Products Limited, Promasidor Nigeria Limited, Nestle Nigeria Plc and Integrated Dairies Limited will import milk into the country
Before the new policy, any company based in Nigeria could import milk. After the government’s plan to conserve foreign exchange and increase its agricultural production through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the approved companies had “keyed into the bank’s backward integration programme.”
According to CBN, Nigeria spends between US$1.2-US$1.5bn annually to import milk. The objective of restricting the importation of milk was to increase the local production from 500,000 to 550,000 tonnes within 12 months.
Godwin Emefiele, governor of CBN, said, “We believe that milk is one of those products that can be produced in Nigeria. Milk importation has been going on in Nigeria for more than 60 years.”
