MSMEsToday findings reveal that pork consumption in Nigeria will reach N261.35 billion in 2029. The projection is based on projected international price of $1,693.2 per tons and exchange rate of N450/$1. This is deduced from the statistics made available by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
In Nigeria, pork has been one of the most widely consumed meats over the years. A total of 280,000 tonnes of pork was consumed in Nigeria in the last ten years, which is valued at N252.39 billion at the international price of $2003.1 per ton. The variance of the two values indicates that households spending on pork will increase by N8.96 billion.
The market size of the piggery farming, is projected to increase among other meats consume in the country. Pork occupied the third place after sheep and beef meats in the meat’s market in Nigeria. A total of 1.25 million tonnes of various meats was consumed by Nigeria in the last ten years with pork accounting for 22.42%. The size of pork market is projected to increase to 23.06% in the next ten years all things been equal.
Further finding by MSMEToday, shows that Nigeria is the largest producer and consumer of pork in Africa, accounting for 18.52% of the total pork produced in the last ten years despite the disruption caused by Africa Swine Fever (ASF) and Covid-19 pandemic in the recent years. Notwithstanding, FAO report projects that production of pork in Nigeria will grow by 22.66% in the next ten years from 278,000 tonnes in 2020 to 341,000 tonnes in 2029.
The variance between the demand and supply of pork has been the challenge of the industry in the past years. Though, Nigeria is rated as leading producer and consumer of pork in Africa, it still depends on importation to certain extent to meet its domestic demand for pork. In 2020, what the country produced accounted for 99% of what the country consumed. It produced 278,000 tonnes of pork and consumed 280,000 tonnes during the period under review while the variance of 2000 tonnes was met through importation at the cost of approximately $3billion.
According FAO, pig production is so valuable; it was further described as an asset of wealth or safety net in times of crises, when viewed from the economic perspective, serving as source of protein nutritionally.
A study by the African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) disclosed that the value of trade in pig products around the world runs into billions of dollars annually. However, the study showed that Africa enjoys less than 5 per cent of the economic ‘fat’ generated in the pig-farming sector.
The aforementioned statistics point to the fact that pig farming is a buoyant sector with a strong potential to generate billions in monetary value into the Nigerian economy, if given the required attention and investment.
More so, livestock analysts and experts have proved pork to be one of the most profitable livestock businesses because the cost of production is relatively low compared to other major livestock farming businesses
