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Demand for indigenous dishes is soaring in Europe and the United States. As a result, export of food items have grown phenomenally to become the single largest category in world agricultural trade, and by extension, creating opportunities for more Nigerians to make money. DANIEL ESSIET reports.

These are boom times for Nigerians involved in export of local foods. What started as a humble cottage industry has undergone a significant transformation with a lot of entrepreneurs finding success in exporting food items to Europe and United States.

One of them is the Chief Executive Officer, The Thy Consulting, Ismail AbdulAzeez.

The initiative has resulted in huge business in terms of export sales and income for the company.

He told The Nation that the demand for traditional dishes has risen with increasing number of Nigerians leaving the country in search of greener pastures in Europe and the United States. While there, such people like to stay connected with “home” by way of eating local dishes. As a result, they create a market for fresh and refrigerated local food items, thereby helping small businesses increase their exports of food and agricultural products.

Foodstuffs in demand include fish, gari, beans flour, melon seed, Ogbono, crayfish,cassava flour, bitter leaf, pounded yam flour, vegetables and pepper. It also covers processed fruits and vegetables, fresh fruits and vegetables.

Food stuffs exports is believed to be in excess of N100 million yearly, yet there is plenty of room for it to grow.

Abudulazeez said with N100,000 an intending exporter can start the business and turnover the money many times within a year.

AbdulAzeez said the opportunities to export food items are great.According to him, food stuffs exports have demonstrated huge potential in sales abroad and represent an opportunity to reduce poverty through income generation among small entrepreneurs.

Having broken into the markets and built a lot of contacts, AbdulAzeez is encouraging more Nigerians to participate in the business.

As these exports increase, the small businesses would create jobs and improve the strength and stability of the agricultural economy.

He offers programmess and services that help boost agricultural exports.

He said there are opportunities to export food produce to Europe, following the increasing number of Nigerians and other Africans relocating in search of greener pastures. The marketing strategy is sending the food stuffs through using friends and relatives in United Kingdom.

For him, value added food exports are rated high and attract much profits.

To export, price plays a factor, but to successfully develop a market requires marketing and promoting, such items through export groups targeting Africans.

Many large supermarkets and hypermarkets now have their own purchasing agents who specialise in buying food items for African consumers. These buyers source food items directly from small farmers and producers.

The buyers then consolidate small orders from multiple vendors into refrigerated containers for export to various points in the United States and Europe.

The landscape for small entrepreneurs’ participation is changing. But the most important concern among consumers is food safety compliance with environmental and ethical standards.

New entrants can break into key markets through increasing contacts with extensive networks around the world. This allows for timely export order information.

Exporters must be careful of produce packing, branding and and currency variables, he said.

For exporters like him, the relationship between Naira and the major currencies is an important part of a small business exporter’s strategy. A highly valued U.S. dollar means more money for Nigerians sending food items abroad.

The other issue is that there are important differences to consider in methods of payment in international trade. Exporters need to consider payment options carefully and consider asking for cash in advance, partial payments or control the consignment with the use of a documentary collection or letter of credit to minimise risk. Since food and agricultural exports travel much further than domestic shipments, they may be exposed to rigours of additional handling, temperature variables and other weather-related elements.

They may also travel in an “Intermodal” fashion, which means by one or more trucks, vessels, aircrafts or trains, between origin and destination. The exporter needs to be aware of the differences in customs procedures in countries across continents. The way to understand these procedures is attending a training on food export.

According to him, timely and professionally prepared documentation is one of the keys to success in the export business.

Source: http://thenationonlineng.net/new/making-money-from-foodstuffs-export