Over $700m  agro-produce from Africa lost to rejection in European market, says Afreximbank

By Cynthia Ezekwe

The African Export–Import Bank (Afreximbank) has disclosed that more than $700 million worth of agro-produce from Africa are rejected in the European market  due to poor quality.

Benedict Oramah,president and chairman, board of trustees of Afreximbank, made the confirmation during the inauguration  of African Quality Assurance Centres (AQAC) in Ogun state, where he reiterated the  bank’s commitment to saving Africa $700 million losses in agro-export rejections.

According to him the  annual reports issued by the rapid alert system for food and feed, revealed that the number of product recalls from European countries and border rejections affecting African exports, grew rapidly between 2000 and 2021, an increase from 57 cases to 338 cases annually, with only 24 African countries  eligible for food imports to the US and only 15 African countries eligible for vegetable exports.

To this end, Oramah disclosed that about $100 million was budgeted  for the implementation  of setting up African Quality Assurance Centres across Nigeria, while working with a lot of  organisations to create the framework for harmonisation of standards across the continent.

The inauguration of the AQAC  was the first in its series in Nigeria, valued at $10.8 million to  ensure the production and export of quality agro-produce from the country,

The initiative from  Afreximbank was  to ensure that “made in Africa” products meet the required health and safety standards,

Oramah also commended the Ogun state government for its support in making the AQAC a reality, stating that there is no country that can gain export success without sound quality infrastructure.

Muhammadu Buhari, the president of Nigeria, represented by Adeniyi Adebayo, minister of the federal ministry of trade and investment, said the establishment of the AQAC, which is a validating standard for goods produced in Nigeria is critical to improving market access, acceptability and export capacity of the country.

According to him,boosting exports is the strategy that has been designed by the federal government to bridge the supply gap and generate earnings in the near future.

He also commended  Afreximbank and Bureau Veritas for setting up  AQUA  in Ogun state, stating that it will give confidence to producers and manufacturers that whatever raw materials they source locally are of the highest and acceptable standards.

Also speaking on the inauguration, Marc Roussel,senior vice president Africa, Bureau Veritas, disclosed that the centre include a number of laboratories and modern instruments which can offer the requisite testing services, including physical and chemical testing, contaminant analysis such as pesticides and heavy metals, microbiological testing, water analysis, soil analysis, plant analysis and organic substrate.