Investment in export of vegetable is another sure way of making extra income because there is a large market for Nigerian vegetables outside the shore of the country.
Based on the high demand by Nigerians in Diaspora and other nationals, going into is an added advantage to make extra cash.
As more Nigerians are opening Grocery and foodstuff markets in these countries, they are looking for regular suppliers which you can tap into.
The vegetables to export could also include fresh fruits like garden eggs, mango, guava, orange, pineapple, watermelon, cucumber, and so on. However, this write-up will only focus on tomatoes, scent leave, bitter leaf, water leaf, ugu, pepper, okro, ewedu, among others.
Most of these vegetables can be grown and harvested more than four times in a year because they grow and mature within three months, 90 days, and on small scale, you can plant them in your compound.
While speaking with LEADERSHIP Weekend, a Lagos-based farmer, Dr Innocent Ihenacho Ogbonna, said Nigerian vegetable comes in various types which include Amaranthus (Tete), Tel Fairia, (Ewedu), Corchorus olitorius (Ugu) Ukazi, Ugba, Bitter leaf.
According to him, almost all the vegetables in Nigeria can mature for harvest within 4-6 weeks after planting. It can be produced all the year round depending on the availability of water.
However, Ogbonna advised interested investor to know the market, that is, to have targeted buyers and the country before going into it as vegetable lifespan after harvest is very short.
Market For Export
On processes, Ogbonna said: “Nigerian vegetables always go through very simple stages, depending on the type, either dry or fresh vegetable.
“To export dry ones, you will need to wash before you take it to the machine for drying. You can dry it in a temperature of 42 to 45 degree. After the drying, you will sort the bad ones and make sure the one you are sending is free from foreign particles. If you are exporting it fresh, just make sure it is free from foreign particles and it is ready for export. The dry vegetable is good for the US and far east while the fresh vegetable is very good for the UK market,” he pointed out.
On how one can get the drying machine, Ogbonna said: “You can buy from Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi (FIIRO) while you can get the locally fabricated machine from welders which can cost about N300,000 to N500,000. If you don’t have the money to buy one, you can always take your vegetable to existing foodstuff exporters that has the drying machine.”
Packaging
He advised investor to ensure the packaging looks attractive to the buyers. “For example, when packaging your vegetables, you can go for 25 grams, 50 grams, 100grams, 1 kg, 2 kg 5 kg pack. You will need a sealing machine, ensure it is properly labeled, include your company, name and address on the nylon and you can then arrange your vegetable in a special carton for vegetable export.”
Business Capital
However, as a small investor, you can start with small package foodstuff with startup capital that could be less than N100, 000.
“But I am aware that export of vegetable needs going through NAFDAC, NEPC in order to meet the required standards before they can be accepted to enter into international markets.
The regulatory body for vegetable export, he said, will need you to register with them before you can export any vegetable to foreign countries as they will need to certify it okay for consumption.
“You will need two certificates to export Nigerian vegetables to the foreign countries. You need an export license from the Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC) which you can get in less than 48 hours with about N10,000; you must have a limited liability company to obtain an export license while the other certificate you need is the one from the Nigeria quarantine services.
“To get this, you will need to pay their registration fee of N50,000, then, you will pay N25,000 for the vegetable exporters union. If you don’t have money to do this, you can leverage on the membership of the existing export group to export your vegetables,” he stressed.
Profitability
On how profitable the business of vegetable export could be, Ogbonna explained that “ Since all vegetables are packed in 50 gram, 100 grams, 150 grams and so on, depending on the specification of the buyer, a bunch of Ugu leaf can go for N50 per bunch in our local market and 10 bunches which is 4kg will make a carton which is N500. The profit on investment per carton is N500, 500kg to 1000kg (1 tone), 125 cartons to 250 cartons respectively can go for N62, 500 to N125,000 profit.
