The Saudi Arabian government has recently indicated its interest the import of selected Nigerian Agricultural produce.
As announced by the Nigerian Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, Saudi Arabia expressed interest in importing 200,000 tonnes of red meat and one million tonnes of soybeans annually from Nigeria.
The interest of the Saudi in Nigeria’s agricultural produce is a positive for Nigeria’s to diversify its exports from the dominant oil and gas sectors to promote non-oil exports and enhanced its footprints in the global agricultural commodities market.
The relationship is also expected to impact positively on Nigeria’s agricultural sector by improving farmers access to market opportunities and more income.
Though soybeans production in Nigeria has continued to rise significantly in recent, but the in-country demand for the oilseed is expanding for both food and non- food use. The increase in- country demand for Soybeans has made the commodity more expensive.
According to the most recent Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) report from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Nigerian soybeans production has recorded a huge increase in the last four years.
However, the Country’s production capacity has majorly suffered setback because of security challenges in the northern states resulting from the activities of insurgents and conflict between pastoralists and farmers.
