Dangote Group has concluded plans to begin export of its first shipment of fertilizer from its new fertilizer plant at the Lekki Free Zone in Lagos, to the US and Brazil.
Initial shipment from one of the world’s biggest fertilizer plant, which has the capacity to produce 3 million tonnes of urea and ammonia per year, is expected to start in late June or early July.
According to a report from Reuters, this disclosure was made by the billionaire President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, while speaking at a virtual economic forum hosted in Qatar on Tuesday, June 22, 2021.
What the President of Dangote Group is saying
Aliko Dangote said that the new fertilizer plant will export its first shipment in late June or early July, to Louisiana, while the majority of exports from the plant are expected to go to Brazil, adding that it will also be able to supply all the major markets in sub-Saharan Africa.
He said, “Apart from meeting the domestic demand, we are going to be able to earn quite a lot of money exporting the goods to the South American countries.”
A lot of Nigerians believe that the fertilizer plant will help solve the problem of low crop yield in the country, which is partly due to insufficient access to fertilizer.
Mr Devakumar Edwin, Group Executive Director, Strategy, Capital Projects of Dangote Industries Limited had about a week ago, said that the $2.5 billion fertilizer plant, which recently commenced operations can produce enough for local demand as it looks towards exports. He said that the plant currently delivers 120 trucks locally
According to the World Bank, Nigeria consumed around 20 kg of fertiliser per hectare of arable land in 2018, compared with 73 kg in South Africa and 393 kg in China.
The Central Bank of Nigeria had banned the allocation of its foreign exchange for fertiliser imports as part of controls aimed at boosting local production.
