Okonjo-Iweala warned that Nigeria may lose its place among world’s producer and consumer of cowpeas and sesame if nothing is done to avert the trend
By Kehinde Okeowo
The Director General of the World Trade Organisation, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has said explain why Nigeria’s cowpeas and sesame seeds export face rejection in the global market.
According to her, the non-compliance with international Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) requirements, is responsible for the trend.
She made this known in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), at the recent launch of seven trade support programmes initiated by the WTO-ITC in collaboration with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, NEPC.
Speaking at the event, the former Minister of Finance stated that health and safety inspections of Nigeria’s cowpeas and sesame exports showed that pesticide residue levels were nearly double beyond the maximum limits from 2019 to 2021.
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She went on to warn that Nigeria may lose its place among the world’s producer and consumer of cowpeas, and sesame if nothing is done about the health and safety concerns.
While giving the advice, Okonjo-Iweala said, “Nigeria is the world’s largest producer and consumer of cowpeas. Sesame is primarily an export crop, and Nigeria is the world’s fourth-leading producer, exporting to the EU, Türkiye, Japan, South Korea and other Asian markets.
“However, Nigerian cowpea and sesame exports have increasingly faced rejections in several destination markets due to non-compliance with international SPS requirements.”
“Nigeria accounts for over a third of Japan’s sesame imports – but health and safety inspections during the past few years have found instances where pesticide residue levels were nearly double the maximum residue limits permissible from 2019 to 2021.”
