Dike Onwuamaeze
Nigeria’s investments in food processing technology that is projected to rise to €62.6 billion (Euros) in 2024, is attracting world leading fabricators of industrial machineries from 11 countries in Europe, Asia and Africa to a tradeshow in Lagos, Nigeria.
The tradeshow would enable them to display products that would facilitate local manufacturing of goods and services in the country and enable Nigerian manufacturers to have improved access to finance.
The exhibitors are also being lured to Nigeria because the country’s enormous population growth that is estimated to grow from 206 million in 2022 to 411 million in 2050 would demand high sustainable investments in its agro-food processing and plastic printing and packaging industry.
The exhibitors, who are from Germany, China, Spain, France, South Korea, Turkey, Belgium, Italy, Taiwan, Egypt and Tunisia, would be in Nigeria between March 28 and March 30, 2023, to attend the 8th International Trade Show that is being organised in Lagos by Fairtrade, a German trade show specialists.
Fairtrade said that Nigeria became the largest investor in food and packaging technology in Africa in 2021 with €346 million investments, which placed it ahead of Egypt’s €341 million and South Africa’s €293 million.
It said: “In 2021 for the first time Nigeria became the largest investor in food technology. As food production has grown by 39.6 per cent in recent years from €26 billion in 2016 to €36.3 billion in 2020 and is expected to rise by 48 per cent between 2021 and 2024, from €42.3 billion to €62.6 billion.”
