Nigeria calls on farmers to grow hibiscus as it begins exportation to Mexico

06/11/2018

– The Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Services says the country will resume the exportation of hibiscus to Mexico

– According to the coordinating director of NAQS, the exportation was initially suspended following the detection of storage pest in some shipments from Nigeria

– He says Nigeria exported 1,983 containers of hibiscus to Mexico alone in 2017 and earned $35 million within nine months of that year

The Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) has said that Nigeria would resume the exportation of hibiscus, popularly known as zobo, to Mexico.

Dr Vincent Isegbe, the coordinating director, NAQS, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday, November 6.

It was reported that the director said that in 2017, Nigeria exported 1,983 containers of hibiscus to Mexico alone and earned $35 million within nine months of that year.

He added that NAQS had initially suspended the exportation following the detection of storage pest in some consignments from Nigeria.

Isegbe said: ”The issue has now been taken care of. That is why we are resuming the export of the plant again.”

He noted that the issue was resolved in collaboration with stakeholders across the value chain, adding that Mexico is the largest importer of Nigerian hibiscus.

Isegbe added: “Nigeria is ready to resume export of the plant to Mexico. In a couple of weeks, we will resume shipments. Our farmers are eager and the fields are near ready. The harvest season of hibiscus will start any moment from now.

“And the good news is that Nigeria has a vast growing belt, with harvest available all year round. We need to take advantage of this opportunity to earn foreign exchange for the country and support the present administration’s diversification of the economy.”

He, however, called on farmers to show more commitment to growing the plant in order to increase their income.