BUA Foods Signs Deal to Build Additional Flour Mills in Nigeria
In a statement posted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange news portal by its Director of Marketing and Communications, Adewunmi Desalu, BUA Foods Plc signed a deal with a Turkish milling equipment manufacturer, IMAS to build four new wheat milling factories with a capacity to mill up to 3200 tonnes daily.
The proposed new wheat mills will increase BUA’s milling capacity to 2.5 million MT per annum.
Currently, the company’s installed milling capacity stood at 500,000 metric tonnes per annum with a capacity utilisation of 84%. The projected increase to 2.5 million metric tonnes means its milling capacities will rise by nearly 400%.
The factories will boost manufacturing capacity and capabilities, enabling the production of more high-quality products that will help address food challenges in Nigeria.
The Chairman of BUA Food Plc, Abdulsamad Rabiu who signed the agreement on behalf of the company stated that new factories are part of plans to improve the company’s share of the Nigerian flour market, improve food security and create additional job opportunities across Nigeria.
Wheat ranks as the third most consumed grain in Nigeria, following rice and corn, with the United States Foreign Agricultural Service projecting the country’s wheat consumption to reach 6.06 million tonnes.
Nigeria spent approximately N970.22 billion on wheat imports over the past 12 months, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) foreign trade report for the last four quarters.
Wheat cultivation is primarily concentrated in Northern Nigeria, spanning about 13 states. According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, wheat production stands at 420,000 metric tonnes, which is significantly below the annual consumption of approximately 6.5 million metric tonnes.
Only recently, the Minister of Agriculture, Abubakar Kyari announced that plans are afoot to end wheat imports within the next four to five years, driven by the federal government’s efforts through a 50% subsidy for wheat farmers engaged in dry season agriculture, along with the cultivation of over 40,000 hectares of land in Jigawa State, and ongoing initiatives from the current administration, will help achieve this goal.