– Authorities in the United States recently rejected yam exports from Nigeria because of their poor quality
– This was disclosed by the minister of agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh
– Investigations are already on as to why the yams were not certified suitable to enter the US
Minister of agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh, has revealed that the US rejected yam exports from Nigeria because of their poor quality.
The minister made this known recently, saying, “Some consignment of yams were exported from Nigeria to the United States and according to reports we have today, they were found to be of poor quality.
“We will be investigating both the company that exported it and our quarantine department to check and find out why such a consignment left here.”
Chief Ogbeh is regarded as one of the shinning lights of the Buhari administration
READ ALSO: Nigeria’s yam export is just going to add to our hardship – Lagos housewife cries out
Ogbeh vowed to investigate both the exporting company and officials of the ministry’s department of quarantine for allowing “such substandard good to leave the shores of the country.”
The Nigeria Yam Export was launched at Lillypond Container Terminal, Ijora, Lagos on Thursday, June 29, by Ogbeh.
Speaking at the event, the minister said: “The yams we export will in no way diminish the quantity we have at home. Indeed, most of the yams we produce, rot away.
“Oil and gas cannot employ millions of people just like agriculture so we must work hard to move from oil to earning foreign exchange from agriculture.”
Despite laying claim to not less than 60% of the world’s yam production, Nigeria does not rank among the world’s highest exporters of the crop.
The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Customs Service, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) were charged with the responsibility of ensuring that yams exported were properly checked and certified.
Others are Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC).
Meanwhile, amid the exportation of yam to Europe, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday, July 17 said that the price of yam increased in June.
The data released by the bureau for June 2017, tagged ‘Selected Food Price Watch’ revealed that the average price of 1 kilogram of yam tuber increased by 32.84% between June 2016 and June 2017.
READ ALSO: Audu Ogbeh responds to critics of yam export policy
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Source: Zenithblog.com
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