Nigeria to become largest exporter of fertilizer as $2bn Dangote Fertilizers Company comes on stream in May

… CBN to increase restricted items to 50 soon

Nigeria is to become the largest exporter of fertilizer in Africa as the $2-billion Dangote Fertilizers Company is set to commence full production by May this year.

Already, pre-commissioning activities have started, Aliko Dangote, president of Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Company, disclosed while conducting Godwin Emefiele, Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, round the complex at the Lekki Export Processing Zone, Lagos at the weekend.

Reacting to the development at the complex, the CBN governor praised the efforts of the president of Dangote Group for taking bold steps to change the base of the Nigerian economy

Emefiele said although Nigeria was almost self-sufficient in fertilizer production, the size of the fertilizer company is twice that existing fertilizer company in the country, stating that by the time the refinery in the complex takes off by the first quarter of 2020, Nigeria will not only be self-sufficient in the production of refined products, but will also join the league of those that export petroleum products.

“I am sure by that by the time Dangote completes all these projects, the CBN will begin to ask Dangote to sell foreign exchange to it.”

Commenting further, the CBN governor also said petrochemical plant is also about 10 times that of the existing petrochemical plant in the country.

“This is certainly a transformational project for Nigeria and it totally keys into the objectives of this government - that is, advocating for conservation of foreign exchange and diversification of the economy,” Emefiele said.

To put the significance of the project in proper perspective, he added that: “By the time you dimension the size of the foreign exchange that is used to import petroleum products, it is at least one-third of the foreign exchange CBN spend to bring goods and services to the country.”

Emefiele said that the apex bank would raise to about 50 the 42 items that are currently restricted from accessing foreign exchange. When importation of petroleum products is added to the restriction list, when Dangote refinery comes on stream, this would have helped the country to save a lot of foreign exchange in the nearest future, Emefiele explained.

The CBN would get more aggressive in ensuring that more of food items are added in to the foreign exchange restriction list, he added.

He said by the time the foreign exchange on importation of petroleum products and food items is saved, the government would have boosted its foreign exchange reserve, as about 55 per cent of the foreign exchange spent by government or CBN goes to importation of petroleum products and food.

He said the CBN would support any Nigerian company that engages in manufacturing items, agriculture value chains. “I have said before and I am repeating it, that if there are companies that are interested in diversify the economy, and want to join government in restructuring the base of the Nigerian economy, CBN will be ready to stand by them to provide funding both in foreign exchange and naira needed to get that project off the ground.”

The Dangote Refinery, he said, is a $9 billion project that is being funded by both local and foreign banks, adding that CBN had committed only about N75 billion in supporting it

“We would continue to show support to individuals and companies that displayed the determination to support thegovernmentandsupportthe CBN in restructuring the base of the Nigerian economy, he said.

Commenting further on the project, Aliko Dangote declared that Nigeria’s biggest challenge was the country imports more that it produces, like any other African country. He that by the time the fertilizer company was completed, Nigeria would be the largest-exporting fertilizer country in Africa, the largest exporter of petrochemicals products, and the biggest in Africa in export of petroleum products.