mrsage:


I'm sure you haven't conducted a single business transaction in your life time.

You need to take lessons in business and basic economics.

Actually he said the truth although its bitter and this is why you are castigating him. When i read this first i was angry that 1. Why does Tomatoes have to be scarce and expensive in nigeria 2. That the economy has gotten very bad to the point that tomatoes ordinary edible is now gold...

For those suggesting he plants hope you know there was a tomato glut just a few months ago?
This means the supply capacity we have is already too much.
Our issue is with storage.

This post is about spotting opportunity and moving fast to take advantage. "Celebrities" and co have been crying for tomato all along, no one ever did anything to solve the supply constraint and benefit.

Onegai:
Ymodulus please I'm going to send a pm right now to you.

You this geh!
At the mention of "money"
onegai must appear

onoja12:
you learn to use common sense,publicity stunts are to fool those with little brains ,i ask you to show me one person,or name the person you are referring me to google.please,Bill gate is simply killing black people in his bid to depopulate the world,why making money of you before killing you,but in case you doubt me then i shall use that google you mentioned to prove it to you

You can make your points without unnecessary insults, we are all here to learn one or two. I normally would have engaged you on your propanganda/conspiracy theories but posting comments filled with insults like this shows the kind of person I am about to engage in a discussion.Sadly, I already feel like I am having a discussion with a loud Lagos park tout. I will take the other lane instead, thank you and bye.

are you done,you have proven the point early stated,you have little brains,but i have no business with you,if you like take the education i have given to you and leave longer,if you dont like ignore it and spend your money on cancer treatment,with bill gate special(pains) since you worship him.like you said do have a nice day

kevoh:

You can make your points without unnecessary insults, we are all here to learn one or two. I normally would have engaged you on your propanganda/conspiracy theories but posting comments filled with insults like this shows the kind of person I am about to engage in a discussion.Sadly, I already feel like I am having a discussion with a loud Lagos park tout. I will take the other lane instead, thank you and bye.

stainlex:


Somewhere along Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, close to Ijesha bus stop. I'm assuming you're in Lagos. There are some techies on Ilasa and Ladipo too IIRC.

Ok. Thanks

Beautiful tale, i love d nagivation, if you had known earlier from Jos you would have headed for Makurdi, spent the nite in Benue, headed for Ikom through makurdi.It is a 3-4hrs drive. Btw can we get a basket to buy from the source? For household consumption.Resident in festac and tomato is indeed Gold now.

MaziOmenuko:
Nice one @ymodulus, very adventurous...

Although I am not that impressed. Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to bad-belle or anything, from a business-man point of view, you did great but from a scientist point of view, this is still the same 'running around in cycles' that has kept us in the dark.

My point, we need to start thinking of ways to preserve tomatoes! It sold for N300 per basket 3 months ago, now its N14,000 per basket. That is almost 500% increase in just 3 months. If we can get a preservative to keep tomatoes intact for just 4 months, we will be making smart profits without dodging bullets, dodging thieves, sleeping in the forests, taking flights upandan

Anyone that can pull this off should contact me with a proposal and funding.

When you say preserve tomatoes is it in cans or in the state it came from the farm? If its the state it came from the farm then i doubt if its very possible..

bigx:
For those suggesting he plants hope you know there was a tomato glut just a few months ago?
This means the supply capacity we have is already too much.
Our issue is with storage.

This post is about spotting opportunity and moving fast to take advantage. "Celebrities" and co have been crying for tomato all along, no one ever did anything to solve the supply constraint and benefit.

How come he is getting the market to sell tomatoes to? Where are the tomatoes in Nigeria then? No matter what, it is advisable to plant these products here. Combining this with Ymodulus' business acumen, you will always get markets for your produce.

HiDee2:


Brother, good day. I just sent you a PM... Can you please reply or send me a message or your number? I have some clarifications and enlightenment to ask from you. Thanks

No problem bro

kafeii123:


You this geh!
At the mention of "money"
onegai must appear

But would you prefer me to appear at the mention of Snake, Olajumoke, Tiwa, Teebillz, Tonto Dike, IPOB, Buhari....mehnnn the list of topics on FrontPage is endless

onatisi:
I don't know why Nigerians are celebrating this article. In all honesty this is an article that Nigerians should be sad about. Yes ,agreed the profit margin is good and that is even only if the story is wholly true ,it seems the get rich syndrome in Nigerians is what is making ppl jumpy about this news .
A Nigerian has succeeded in dashing almost 10million naira to Cameroon, the Cameroonians will shake hands with us and turn round to make jest of us,no wonder Africans usually call Nigeria "big for nothing", Nigeria happens to be the" only country in the world that export everything that she needs but import everything that she has" how can a Nigerian be happy to invest 76 million naira to import tomatoes and yet Nigerians are happy!!!! A white man will shake his head in disbelief if he reads it. Nigeria has the land,the weather,the human labour and all that is needed to produce tomatoes in export quantities. No wonder dangote is getting richer and richer ,he has seen the huge potentials in Nigeria and he is continuously and continually exploiting them. The only positive I can derive from this article is the fact that there is massive market potentials for tomatoes in Nigeria and the local supply is not enough to satisfy the local demand talk less of exportation. Investing in tomatoes farming in Nigeria definitely wouldn't cost up to the 76 mil or 10mil naira to import tomatoes!!. Instead of Nigerians thinking and racking their brains about dashing Cameroon money,lets ppl come together and work in starting up tomatoes farms ,a poster mentioned something about green houses and things like that ,many readers didn't take notice simply because of the Nigeria factor of get rich quick,buy today sell tomorrow and make profit but it is time we start planing for 10 years or more .

Onatisi, greenhouses are expensive to build and run in Nigeria and require a longterm investment. So we would need backers who are not looking for an immediate return on investment.

MaziOmenuko, I have an idea. I'm not an Agricultura person but an idea person. Let me think on a few days and get back to you on your challenge.

Onegai:



MaziOmenuko, I have an idea. I'm not an Agricultura person but an idea person. Let me think on a few days and get back to you on your challenge.

Please do send me the idea. I've received 2 already and it's not inspiring at all. How can a Nigerian think of refrigerating tomatoes? How is he even going to power the cold room?

Please make consultations and get back to me.

redcliff:


When you say preserve tomatoes is it in cans or in the state it came from the farm? If its the state it came from the farm then i doubt if its very possible..

Yes, I am talking about the 'impossible'. Fruits and vegetables are available all round the year in foreign countries, what are they using?

MaziOmenuko:


Yes, I am talking about the 'impossible'. Fruits and vegetables are available all round the year in foreign countries, what are they using?

Bro i strongly strongly doubt. If you should know im not in nigeria. Some so called fruits have their seasons too. If its in can fresh to an extent fine. But its always not the same as the one from the farm impossible!

Ajgal10:
Beautiful tale, i love d nagivation, if you had known earlier from Jos you would have headed for Makurdi, spent the nite in Benue, headed for Ikom through makurdi.It is a 3-4hrs drive. Btw can we get a basket to buy from the source? For household consumption.Resident in festac and tomato is indeed Gold now.

Markudi to ikom is not a 3-4 hrs drive miss

MaziOmenuko:


Please do send me the idea. I've received 2 already and it's not inspiring at all. How can a Nigerian think of refrigerating tomatoes? How is he even going to power the cold room?

Please make consultations and get back to me.

Here is my solution; I know you are talking about storage but I have an alternative solution.

Nigeria is blessed with different vegetation; soil types and and relatively different weather. If tomatoes is still being produced at Cameroon at this time of the year, I don't see any reason why it would not do well at the bordering towns like Ikom in northern cross river and Ikang in southern cross river state. It is just a matter of trying it out. In these places, you can lease acres of land for almost nothing. The plan here is to time the harvesting to fall within this time of the year. If it works, then you have discovered a gold mine. You can start by cultivating just one plot of land.

Mr ymodulus, although I understand you are a very busy man with so much day to day schedule/activities. But I will only plead with you to not only be an inspiration to us, but also as a mentor by trying to carry a team of us along so we can learn from u directly and seek advice. Thank u. Please form a whatsapp group or even your own business school.

x240:


Let us even assume he has the funds.

He has stated he used FBN, Gtb and diamond.

I operate a Platinum Card for one of these banks and the maximum Dollars I can transfer, cash or even use over POS or at is $5000 per month and $30000 a year.

So how was he able to move over 70 million naira. That's like $250,000 between Nigeria and Cameroun. Gtb or Diamond does not have a branch there neither FBN and you wouldn't for the love of Satan dare move such amount across ikom. If there is any axis so dangerous for road robbery after Kaduna-Zaria-Kano that axis would take the cake. I have experience with people buying bananas in Cameroon so I am talking from a point of clarity not ignorance.

He would do well to clarify such.

i have been wondering too cos i blv he will also be buying with black market rate.

Everyone likes to make profit but as ymodules dey tell us make me wants to board the next flight to cameroon but i know what i am reading will be different from reality.

Ymodulus:
[size=14pt]Success[/size]

Every Business idea needs three things to run succesfully- Idea, Funds and Courage

1. IDEA: I had the idea, i saw the need for tomatoes, i saw a vacuum, i then searched for s solution.

2. FUNDS
Having a business  Idea is 1 Thing, having capital to run all your idea is another.
a. Ymodulus- I did the business self sponsored. Though added Close Friend's money. I personly bought a total of 6,556 Baskets of Tomatoes. These were mine.
b. IzikJon:  got 700Baskets of Tomatoes.

3. COURAGE:
Several people have funds but dont have the courage to try. It wasnt new to me. I didnt get to where i was without risking. i have lost and gain. Its Life.

4. PROFIT:
I Ymodulus personally love to risk all in business so i can rise fast. I always love to set a high target that can make me better than my mate. I had a mindset to hit a total profit of 10Million in a 2-4day frame. Hehe.

IzikJon wamted just any profit above N1Million.

*Making necessary calculations. It cost us N9,993.7 to get a Cameroon Basket of Tomatoes to Lagos. And this Basket goes as high as  13,000 - N14,000 in lagos. However we asked our Tomatoes Dealer to sell all the tomatoes at a flate fee rste of N12,000.

5. LANGUAGE
I hate to say this. But if i must say. Please learn one of the Major Languages. If you plan doing International Business. Its a big Plus. In our case we spoke Hausa to an Hausa Man who them translates to French and one funny Language Cameroon Tomatoes producing area speaks.  We settled our Hausa Interpreter N25,000 and bought him a new Gionee M5 Mini.

6. HONESTY
Some things can not be bought. In Mile12 Market our Dealers do sell and send money back to us without we been present. Hehe.

7. LOCATIONS
Our Decision of sensing our tomatoes to several locations ( Isoko Marker Warri- Delta State , OilMil Market Portharcout Rivers State, Abbdjdikw Aba Abia State ). Was a big boost to us. We ruled the market.

8. FRATERNIZATION
We became friends with most top boss from Head of Customs to Immigratiom to Head of Union Markets. We bought drinks for those who needed drinks, cigarettes for those who needed cigarettes. All in a bid to get what we want. Yesterday we successfully became close to the Head Military officer here.


i wont want to upload some pictures. For privacy sake

you, the BULL∆ meehn!

onatisi:
I don't know why Nigerians are celebrating this article. In all honesty this is an article that Nigerians should be sad about. Yes ,agreed the profit margin is good and that is even only if the story is wholly true ,it seems the get rich syndrome in Nigerians is what is making ppl jumpy about this news .
A Nigerian has succeeded in dashing almost 10million naira to Cameroon, the Cameroonians will shake hands with us and turn round to make jest of us,no wonder Africans usually call Nigeria "big for nothing", Nigeria happens to be the" only country in the world that export everything that she needs but import everything that she has" how can a Nigerian be happy to invest 76 million naira to import tomatoes and yet Nigerians are happy!!!! A white man will shake his head in disbelief if he reads it. Nigeria has the land,the weather,the human labour and all that is needed to produce tomatoes in export quantities. No wonder dangote is getting richer and richer ,he has seen the huge potentials in Nigeria and he is continuously and continually exploiting them. The only positive I can derive from this article is the fact that there is massive market potentials for tomatoes in Nigeria and the local supply is not enough to satisfy the local demand talk less of exportation. Investing in tomatoes farming in Nigeria definitely wouldn't cost up to the 76 mil or 10mil naira to import tomatoes!!. Instead of Nigerians thinking and racking their brains about dashing Cameroon money,lets ppl come together and work in starting up tomatoes farms ,a poster mentioned something about green houses and things like that ,many readers didn't take notice simply because of the Nigeria factor of get rich quick,buy today sell tomorrow and make profit but it is time we start planing for 10 years or more .

You guys living abroad need to come home from time to time, you people seem to have lost touch with reality of the Nigerian situation.

The current tomato scarcity is an aberration. Tomato like other fruits and food commodities are seasonal, during the season there is a glut in the market and the price is very cheap, while during off season, the price often goes through the roof. Although tomato is often more expensive at the middle of the rainy season, it had never been this expensive. I am sure there are other extraneous factors responsible for this level of scarcity, some say it is the lack of rains during this season, others says Dangote has cleaned the available tomato from the market to feed his newly built tomato processing plant. It is the same situation with onions, palm oil, corn, plantain (the cost of plantain presently is outrageous), etc. During a glut, you can buy a small basket of onions at N200, but off season, you will buy a small onion at N100 each. During the season, i hear a basket of tomato is not more than N500 at the farms, but off season it can go as high as 6,000.

If you invest heavily in tomato farming now, by the time you harvest, there might be a glut in the market and might find it hard breaking even, after you consider the cost of harvesting, packing and transportation from the farms to the packaging areas and markets.

Ymodulus is just an opportunist, he saw an opportunity and is exploiting it. The opportunity might no be there in 3 month's time.

The problem is our present farming technology is archaic and does not allow all year farming.

kelsidengkucio:

I v done similar biz like this buying of goat in large quantity from Niger to Nigeria. And I must say I experienced all this things u said.
I am just following the thread because it looks like an interesting fictional film.

Leave am make he dey Bobo people. Na so he easy reach.

frankzone:
. I work in a bank, I understand everything he said about transfers, he's quite right, he's making local transfers to bdc agents and you can send as much as he stated. Most times some banks set the limit transfer as 1mil but you can upgrade to unlimited and I remember when he said his bank's customer care were calling him to verify the transfers. So in terms of his transfers bro, that's a non issue. Na d risks and logistics where wahala dey. I've known ds young man and he's a genius

And I work in a firm that audits financial institutions, banks, and allied institutions . I am trained to detect bullshit and I call this tale bullshit.

Local transfers to which BDC? The BDC in Nigeria or in Cameroun. If in Nigeria, how do you ferry 76million naira or whatever Cameroun spends across the border? I do FX transactions with dorm accounts, cards and underground channels and you would be a maestro to move such cash around. Do you know what money laundering even is?

Do you know why most people rich people buy artworks, Jewelries , diamonds and so on? It is because you cannot possibly move cash around with such ease.

People who buy from China use domiciliary accounts to push such large funds and they take 3 business days minimum.

Glad to see saner heads prevailing. Like anyone I wouldn't turn down the chance to make a quick buck, but c'mon. Honestly OP doesn't sound like someone who can move 76 million, by himself or by proxy. Sketchy tale and wads of dirty 1000naira notes floating about. I call bullshit too.

Ymodulus:


sorry sir. i will prefer everyone does it him or herself.


However what i must tell you is dont be scared even if you have 1Million Baskets. You can sell all a day. I mean a day.

Dont be scared.

I am so sure of 7,000Baskets in Lagos a day. And am sure of 1000 Baskets in Portharcout in a day.

Tomatoes is also been imported from Benin and Togo into Nigeria.





Note* due to experience you can sell 1,000 basket in portharcout and make a profit of someone who sold 5000Basket in Lagos.
PORTHARCOUT is the money market. Those people live a high life.

With people like you bro, I still remain loyal to Nairaland.... I love your business mindset... keep it up bro

ExplicitContent:

Markudi to ikom is not a 3-4 hrs drive miss

Leave all of them make them dey feed us with inaccurate information like say we never Waka pass lagos. Markurdi to Ogoja alone is more than 4 to 5hours. Ogoja to Ikom with the terrible bad roads last I passed through there was up to 5hours. We left Ogoja around 7pm and got to ikom around 2am. Poor visibility and the rains also contributed to it though

wirinet:


You guys living abroad need to come home from time to time, you people seem to have lost touch with reality of the Nigerian situation.

The current tomato scarcity is an aberration. Tomato like other fruits and food commodities are seasonal, during the season there is a glut in the market and the price is very cheap, while during off season, the price often goes through the roof. Although tomato is often more expensive at the middle of the rainy season, it had never been this expensive. I am sure there are other extraneous factors responsible for this level of scarcity, some say it is the lack of rains during this season, others says Dangote has cleaned the available tomato from the market to feed his newly built tomato processing plant. It is the same situation with onions, palm oil, corn, plantain (the cost of plantain presently is outrageous), etc. During a glut, you can buy a small basket of onions at N200, but off season, you will buy a small onion at N100 each. During the season, i hear a basket of tomato is not more than N500 at the farms, but off season it can go as high as 6,000.

If you invest heavily in tomato farming now, by the time you harvest, there might be a glut in the market and might find it hard breaking even, after you consider the cost of harvesting, packing and transportation from the farms to the packaging areas and markets.

Ymodulus is just an opportunist, he saw an opportunity and is exploiting it. The opportunity might no be there in 3 month's time.

The problem is our present farming technology is archaic and does not allow all year farming.

There is no excuse for failure ,and the world today has gone beyond the stage of blaming the environment because if other countries can be having enough tomatoes throughout the year then ,then why cant Nigeria ?
The honest truth here is that the importation of tomatoes into Nigeria is a national disgrace and national shame that the nation Nigeria and her leaders need to be ashamed off. There is nothing to jubilate about importing tomatoes and I have nothing against the op,he is only following the trend set the leadership and system and using it to survive. There is nothing magical about tomatoes preservation,we have many research institute in Nigeria that have solutions to this problem. IITA in Ibadan have varieties of tomatoes species that can grow all year round
The founding fathers of Nigeria will never have thought or believed that a time will come that Nigeria that is blessed with abundant land ,fantastic weather and large pool of capable human resources will be importing tomatoes .
The problem with Nigeria is in 3 folds ,the leadership that have not provided quality and purposeful leadership,the financial institutions that have refused to give loans and support young farmers and the Nigeria people with the get rich quick syndrome and mentality.
There is no profitable long lasting business like farming .

sonnie10:


Here is my solution; I know you are talking about storage but I have an alternative solution.

Nigeria is blessed with different vegetation; soil types and and relatively different weather. If tomatoes is still being produced at Cameroon at this time of the year, I don't see any reason why it would not do well at the bordering towns like Ikom in northern cross river and Ikang in southern cross river state. It is just a matter of trying it out. In these places, you can lease acres of land for almost nothing. The plan here is to time the harvesting to fall within this time of the year. If it works, then you have discovered a gold mine. You can start by cultivating just one plot of land.

Just like Nigeria, Cameron has both tropical and savannah regions. Tomatoes don't do well on tropical climate so I assume the tomatoes he bought was from northern Cameron, and not the southern part that shares border with Calabar.

The only thing that might work would be trying to replicate those savannah conditions in a green-house but maintaining the temp and humidity in this exclusive green-house farm would not be cost-effective. Best bet is harvesting when it is in abundant and finding a means of preserving.

Thanks for your idea btw.

MaziOmenuko:


Just like Nigeria, Cameron has both tropical and savannah regions. Tomatoes don't do well on tropical climate so I assume the tomatoes he bought was from northern Cameron, and not the southern part that shares border with Cameron.

The only thing that might work would be trying to replicate those savannah conditions in a green-house but maintaining the temp and humidity in this exclusive green-house farm would not be cost-effective. Best bet is harvesting when it is in abundant and finding a means of preserving.

Thanks for your idea btw.

It depends on the variety. Even in my backyard here in the northeast US where the temps could go as low as zeros, about three years ago, I planted some tomatoes and they did very well. Note: the snow did not meet it during this duration.

MaziOmenuko:


Please do send me the idea. I've received 2 already and it's not inspiring at all. How can a Nigerian think of refrigerating tomatoes? How is he even going to power the cold room?

Please make consultations and get back to me.

A friend once did his project on preserving perishables and if am not wrong, he got a solution for it though it doesn't last too long. But it was a step up. Hopefully, I will contact him and get back to you when I am less busy.

Almost everybody has said something, Now it's my turn.I will make this brief and concise as much as I can. As for those doubting him, keep doubting. Little thing about Ymodulus is, He rarely do business with people, i.e, collecting money to do it for you. He has laid it down for all to see. It's your choice to make do of the information. But trust Nigerians, they like hoarding information just to maximize profit. From importation to Keke business to Yam business to Money exchange and now to tomato business. Well, the list is much, this is the few I can think of. Funny enough, he gave it all for free.
As for the tomato biz, I actually did follow him from the start to when he got the tomato in Cameroon. From the flights to the meal, to the pictures he took in the different vehicles and even the truck and his bills. Guess what, I was shocked in one of our conversation when he said that he has spent above 100k in search of the said product, but hasn't gotten it. I saw some bills. Truth be told, he has got some really big balls. It might sound easy but it's not that easy, it has its own hurdles. Don't be surprised in the next 4 months, Ymodulus is into something else. As a business man, he spots opportunities and take advantage of it. We all know that the product is actually scarce and it is not even available in the country now. If people can import things from neighboring countries and not follow the truck and still get their goods delivered, why should this be different. Atleast, speaking from experience.
As for those saying, it's not possible. Please you can keep doubting, he has nothing to proof to you.
It would be fair if you share your stories with us and inspire us. We would appreciate.

Tosicrato Ymodulus.