INVESTIGATION: Milk or Mimic: Nigeria’s diary market, a hub for inferior EU productHow police killed, injured protesters during #EndBadGovernance protests in Niger StateINVESTIGATION: The real reasons for Nigeria’s massive post-harvest losses amid food crisis EditorialINVESTIGATION: Milk or Mimic: Nigeria’s diary market, a hub for inferior EU productHow police killed, injured protesters during #EndBadGovernance protests in Niger StateINVESTIGATION: The real reasons for Nigeria’s massive...
PREMIUM TIMES also found widespread misinformation about FFMP among traders of dairy products in major markets across the country, particularly in Abuja, Enugu, Kano and Lagos states where we surveyed. At Wuse Market, one of Abuja’s largest markets, they are stacked on the shelves in many grocery stores and are regarded by traders as among the most accepted products. They are quick to leave the shelves because they are in high demand and are consumed by people of every age group, excluding infants.Other widely consumed FFMPs are Dano, Cowbell, and Three Crown. But they are not Irish products.
In Ireland and other EU countries, where the dairy sector is developed and production corresponds adequately with demand, fresh milk is consumed. However, FFMP, the product that dominates the Nigerian market space, is not classified as milk as it violates the CMO regulation, which prohibits the extraction of raw milk nutrients. In FFMP, the milk fat, an essential content of milk, has been completely extracted and replaced with vegetable oil.
Most of the dairy multinational companies with a huge presence in Nigeria are from Europe. Denmark, Netherlands, New Zealand, and Ireland are some of the top exporters to Nigeria.in Brussels. In its early years, the goal was to ensure food security and a stable agricultural market; then, it evolved to help European agriculture compete globally.However, long-standing accusations exist that poor countries are paying the price for the policy.
Local farmers produce around 530,000 tonnes of raw milk, a far cry from Ireland’s production of about eight to nine million tonnes. The country is an important contributor to EU milk production, producing 94 times more milk than Nigeria. Under the best conditions, she said, they can only produce five litres of milk per day. “This is very low when compared to breeds in other countries that can produce 40 to 50 litres.”
!function{“use strict”;window.addEventListener{if{var e=document.querySelectorAll;forforif{var i=a.data+"px";e.style.height=i}}}))}; Export to the region more than doubled within the last three years, rising from N447 billion in 2020 to N977 billion in 2023. Between 2020 and the first quarter of 2024, the Irish total FFMP export into the region is worth N2 trillion.
PREMIUM TIMES reviewed the market price of Kerrygold and Milksi fat-filled powder compared to the average cost of whole milk in Nigeria.We found that FFMP is sold at much cheaper prices. PREMIUM TIMES also contacted Promasidor Nigeria Limited and Fareast Mercantile Co. Limited, the importers of Kerrygold Avantage and Milksi.
However, our investigation found no FFMP pouch or tin labelled as milk alternatives or milk products. They were labelled milk. “Local producers cannot compete with multinational companies in the dairy industry and the profit margin is wide. This is why some dairy farms are forced to shut down less than five years after they are established,” said Mr Abimbola.