One of the outcomes of the current trade war between the United States of America and China which has resulted in the two countries slamming high tariffs on goods imported from each other’s country is that China, not willing to engage in a trade war with the U.S, has started looking elsewhere to import those items which China was importing from the U.S.
Recall that on April 3, the U.S threatened to slap 25% import tariff on another 1,333 Chinese products, worth $46.2bn, mainly machinery, mechanical appliances and electrical equipment. China again responded on April 17, by slapping anti-dumping duties of 178.6% on sorghum and Soya bean from the US. Reacting to the trade war, Business Point pointed out that the trade war between the two world powers will impact on African countries.
Business Point pointed out that given the excellent diplomatic and trade relations between China and African countries, China will turn to Africa to source its Sorghum and Soya bean needs.
Only recently, our Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, said in Gombe that the demand for Nigeria’s agricultural produce by foreign countries and the efforts of the government to diversify the economy “show that the future of the country lies in agriculture and not in oil and gas.”
Specifically, he confirmed our prediction on the probable Chinese reaction to the high tariff on Soya bean and Sorghum, by saying that “The Chinese are demanding for two million tonnes of soya beans, the Indians are looking for our produce also. With these demands, we must all be involved in agriculture. It is the constitutional right of everyone in government to own a farm.”
If anything, the horizon is getting bigger, better and brighter for Nigerian farmers if they can work harder and be ready to produce and process their farm produce as per the buyers specification.
Soya bean has many nutrients that are good for the body and that is why it is used as a major ingredient in animal feeds, particularly poultry and livestock feeds. Among the nutrients in Soya bean are molybdenum, copper, manganese, phosphorus, iron, omega-3 fatty acids, dietary fiber, vitamin B2, magnesium, vitamin K and potassium, proteins, peptides, and phytonutrients.
Unprocessed soya bean is usually used in making soya milk, a popular and highly nutritious milk drink in Nigeria and many other African countries. Experts say that it is also used for industrial purposes like in ink, paint, and solvents manufacturing. Soya cake is used for poultry and livestock feeding because of its protein content which is about 40% and because of its oil content of 20%. Soya bean has the highest protein content of all food crops and is second only to groundnut in terms of oil content.
Experts say that Nigeria currently produces Soya bean worth $85 million in the international market and though most of the nation’s Soya bean is consumed locally where they are used in the production of Soya milk and specially formulated foods to help malnourished infants and children. The current demand for soya bean from China is expected to dramatically shoot up production of the product in
Nigeria.
Also, Nigeria’s ability to supply Sorghum is not in doubt. In fact, Nigeria with current production of 6.4 million metric tonnes is a major global producer of Sorghum second only to the U.S with 8.4 million metric tonnes in annual production. Sorghum is grown in the middle belt up to the semi arid savannah in Northern
Nigeria.
Sorghum is nutritionally rich. It is also a staple food in many parts of Northern Nigeria. However, local demand for Sorghum is high as the breweries use malted Sorghum in the production of malt drinks. Towards this end about 1.3 million metric tonnes or 20 percent of local Sorghum is used as raw materials by local breweries while 4.2 million metric tonnes or 80 percent of local production is consumed or used as livestock
feed.
Can Nigeria meet the Chinese demand for Sorghum and Soya bean? Yes, Nigeria can supply it. But in doing so, large scale farmers must be ready to move into the production of Sorghum and Soya bean that are needed in the export market. There is much money to be made from agriculture and we must move there to do medium to large scale agriculture and make more
money.
