“People are begging us to sell,” he said.
“We are very picky about who we sell this product to. We load a ship that goes to the US, Brazil, Mexico, India… The EU is trying to buy from us,” he added.
The fertilizer plant is located on 500 hectares of land on the outskirts of Lagos and has a capacity to produce 3 million tons of urea annually, making it the second largest plant in the world, Dangote said.
Urea and ammonia are essential ingredients for farmers to meet production targets and access to fertilizers has been significantly reduced, threatening the global food supply chain.
“We are lucky to have this plant,” Dangote added. “It comes at the right time with the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, as both Ukraine and Russia control significant amounts of agricultural commodities… This could help many African countries. The export market is a seller’s market.”
The number of people on the brink of famine has risen from 27 million in 2019 to 44 million, the UN’s World Food Program said this month. If Russia’s war in Ukraine continues, parts of Africa could go hungry within three months, said Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist at South Africa’s Agricultural Business Chamber.
“In the short term, between now and three months, the conflict will affect the food supply mainly from a price perspective,” Sihlobo told DailyExpertNews.
“This is a very big impact. It’s very important to the Nigerian economy,” Dangote told DailyExpertNews.
Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele said reducing fertilizer imports is a key pillar in Buhari’s diversification agenda, moving the country from a net importer of the commodity to self-sufficiency.
“Indeed, in the last five years, more than 35 million bags of mixed fertilizer have been produced in Nigeria. As a result, our fertilizer import bill has not only fallen significantly, but we are also seeing increased investment in the fertilizer industry, as it is being commissioned today.” of the Dangote Group,” he said during a speech at the factory’s inauguration.
“Today Nigeria is self-sufficient in urea production and we are also the largest producer of urea on the African continent.
Speaking at the event, Buhari said the factory would help Nigeria end its dependence on food imports.
“The factory creates huge opportunities in employment, storage, transportation and logistics. This will create significant wealth, reduce poverty and help secure the future of our country.”
The Dangote Group is the second largest employer in Nigeria after the federal government.