POFON moves to stabilise palm oil price

As the cost of living continues to skyrocket unabated, the Plantation Owners Forum of Nigeria (POFON) said it has devised a means to stabilise the prices of crude palm oil in the country.

The forum said the discovery was to ensure that the ‘have and the have-not’ are able to purchase the product for their daily needs.

Chairman of the POFON, Mr Emmanuel Ibru, disclosed this in a chat with newsmen Thursday after the forum meeting in Benin.

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Ibru, who is also the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Aden River Estates Limited, an agro-industrial subsidiary of Ibru organisation, said the prices for the cooking palm oil would be stabilised throughout the year-round in the country irrespective of the production seasons.

According to him, just as the Nigerian governments are working to stabilise the country’s economy, so also is the interest in POFON to make sure that prices of palm oil also remain stable.

“In Nigeria, we have two seasons for palm oil. When it is peak season, the prices will go down, and when it is lean season, the prices will go up. Our members are trying to see what they can do this time around to try to stabilise the prices so that there is not much difference between the peak and lean season prices.

“POFON and its members have resolved this year to try and ensure that we maintain a stable price in the commodity even throughout the off-peak.

“We are not unaware of the inflationary trends. We know that the cost of inputs are going up but despite that it is also our duty to ensure that we maintain a satisfactory prices profile in the market”, he said.

He said that in doing that, members are also investing in expanding their plantations, geared towards increasing their capacity to meet the local demands in the Nigerian market.

“There is no doubt that there is still a gap in the supply and demand of palm oil in Nigeria, but POFON and its members over the last 10 to 15 years have made tremendous efforts to increase the production of oil palm in the country.

“Some new players have come in, the traditional large holders such as Presco and Okomu have continued to invest and expand their plantation holdings, while new players such as Dufil, Saro Africa, and others have come into Edo state.

“Saro Africa has developed the essence of 20,000 hectares in Edo State, Wilmar has just acquired the shareholding of PZ Wilmar from their former joint partner and is in the process of developing yet another 8,500 hectares, which will bring their holdings in Nigeria to close to 50,000 hectares.

“JB farms have increased their holdings in Cross River state and are also in the process of developing a further 10,000 hectares again in Ondo State. We also have an Agric Palm, which has continued to increase its holdings.

“There are also new players who have acquired lands but have not started yet, but hope to in the next one to two years, take possession and start.

“So, in all attempts have been made, and we can see those attempts coming to fruition. I will say that about eight years ago, the total amount of Crude Palm oil (CPO) produced in the country was in the region of 900,000 to one million tons per annum.

“Today we have been able to increase it to about 1.4 million to 1.5 million which means there has been a 50 percent increase of production which is no mean achievement”, he added.

Ibru, who noted that there was still a supply gap, added that the organization is working closely with some government agencies in developing a roadmap for sustainable development of oil palm in the country, as well as sustainable finance for the industry.

He opined that the roadmap is not only for the large-scale plantation holders but also for the small and medium-scale holders.

He added that in the lean season, there is a tendency to see a reduction in the supply of palm oil, which correspondingly leads to an increase in prices, as opposed to the peak season when the supply is high.

Ibru, who also stated that Nigeria is the highest producer of palm oil in Africa and 5th in the World, said it needs to increase its hectarage to about 500,000 hectares to meet the local needs and also become more efficient in production.