Fruit farmers can boost wine production in Nigeria - RMRDC
Dr Moses Omojola, the Director, Industrial Chemicals and Minerals Department, Raw Materials Research and Development Council(RMRDC), says farmers can be of major help to promote wine production in the country.
Omojola said this on Monday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
According to him, wine produced from Nigerian pawpaw, pineapple and other fruits can meet international standards, which can be used to develop the economy and reduce importation of foreign wine.
`` There are so many low fruit hanging projects that you can invest in because wine produced from our pawpaw and pineapple, meet international standard and importation of wine has reduced.
``Fruits grow in different parts of the country and this can be better harnessed if more people can go into fruit farming with the aim of meeting the demands of Nigerian wine producers,’’ he said.
On efforts of the council to encourage production of wines locally, the director said that the agency had started doing that.
``There was an investor we promoted in Lagos and today he is supplying Shoprite with locally produced wine and their level of wine importation has reduced.
``Prices of imported wines are more expensive compared to the ones made locally and all that the man did was just importing the equipment and using our pawpaw and pineapple,” he said.
Omojola therefore implored government and private investors to key into the business, saying it would help reduce pressure on the naira.
``Investment in these areas are less than N20 million including machinery and building. It will give you a profitable plant for fruit juice and wine production.
``In fact, each local government can even have one or two industries producing wine and there is big export market for wine because these fruits are available, the technology is simple.
``RMRDC has promoted it and supported an investor that is doing very well in that line.
`` In the last 10 years, this investor has been producing wine that is; one thing; what of fruit juice; a lot of fruits are being wasted if they are not processed.
``You can have a small scale fruit juice processing plant that you can process your pineapple into food not even into wine. That is into non-alcoholic drinks,” he said
According to him, wine produced from Nigerian pawpaw, pineapple and other fruits can meet international standards, which can be used to develop the economy and reduce importation of foreign wine.
`` There are so many low fruit hanging projects that you can invest in because wine produced from our pawpaw and pineapple, meet international standard and importation of wine has reduced.
``Fruits grow in different parts of the country and this can be better harnessed if more people can go into fruit farming with the aim of meeting the demands of Nigerian wine producers,’’ he said.
On efforts of the council to encourage production of wines locally, the director said that the agency had started doing that.
``There was an investor we promoted in Lagos and today he is supplying Shoprite with locally produced wine and their level of wine importation has reduced.
``Prices of imported wines are more expensive compared to the ones made locally and all that the man did was just importing the equipment and using our pawpaw and pineapple,” he said.
Omojola therefore implored government and private investors to key into the business, saying it would help reduce pressure on the naira.
``Investment in these areas are less than N20 million including machinery and building. It will give you a profitable plant for fruit juice and wine production.
``In fact, each local government can even have one or two industries producing wine and there is big export market for wine because these fruits are available, the technology is simple.
``RMRDC has promoted it and supported an investor that is doing very well in that line.
`` In the last 10 years, this investor has been producing wine that is; one thing; what of fruit juice; a lot of fruits are being wasted if they are not processed.
``You can have a small scale fruit juice processing plant that you can process your pineapple into food not even into wine. That is into non-alcoholic drinks,” he said
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