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| Maize Plant |
Despite a bountiful harvest in 2011 in Nigeria, the market price of
cereal is still on the upward trend.
NaijaAgroNet recalls that the forecast for
cereals production for 2012 set a new record at 2,371 million tonnes as against
2,344 million tonnes of 2011.
Resources made available to NaijaAgroNet by the
United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) revealed that the
growing price of cereal is attributable to the removal of fuel subsidy in the
early days of 2012 by the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Other factors responsible for the price hike include civil strive and
insecurity in the northern part of the country, strong cereal demand from the
brewing as well as the huge demand from poultry sector.
NaijaAgroNet further gathered that in spite of
the huge record forecast, the Sahel belt still has a reduction in cereal
production which also affected supplies.
Ironically, FAO affirmed that some sub-regions recorded price reductions
during the early period of the harvest season, citing an instance with Damanau
International Market in Kano, which recorded the highest decline in the West
Africa region within this period.
According the UN agency, Dawanau International Market recorded a 12 per
cent and 15 per cent decline in the prices of maize and sorghum respectively
compared a month prior to harvest.
Yinka Awosanya/LS
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