CBN to cut $580m cassava by-product imports yearly – Emefiele

NIGERIA imports cassava by-products worth over $580 million yearly due to lack of processing facilities.

The Central Bank (CBN) made this disclosure on Thursday, May 27, adding that the yearly practice has led to the nation’s dependence on the imports.

The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, stated this through the bank’s Twitter handle, while commissioning Rivers Cassava Processing Company.

He said the facility will help the nation reduce her reliance on imports of cassava by-products.

The tweet read: “The facility will help in reducing our reliance on imports of cassava by-products, which serves as a key input in the production of food items in several factories. Nigeria imports over $580 million worth of cassava by-products annually.

“The cassava processing facility helps to support the CBN’s mandate of promoting economic growth for Nigeria while also provide farmers with a verifiable platform to access finance from the Central Bank of Nigeria and other financial institutions through our Anchor Borrowers Program.”

The facility, built by the Rivers State Government has the capacity to process over 45,000 tons of cassava, and will provide high-quality cassava flour for households, industries and bakeries.