The United States has already requested for the supply of five containers of yams monthly, which amounted to 120 tonnes of yams monthly and 1,440 tonnes of yams in a year, the Technical Committee on Nigeria Yam Export Programme has said.
The committee made this known on Monday in Abuja while announcing that it will be targeting the export of about 480 tonnes of yams per month in 2018.
The Chairman of the committee, Prof. Simon Irtwange, said that the target would be achieved if all the challenges, which yam exporters experienced in 2017, were surmounted.
He said, “If everything works out well, the U.S. authorities say they will need about five containers every month and one container contains 24 tonnes of yams.
“We are trying to aggregate the demand from other countries; so by the time we put everything together, we should be thinking of exporting about 20 containers of yams on a monthly basis.
“When you multiply 20 by 24, the total is 480 tonnes of yams.
“We have a work plan and we have a lot of activities that we have already pencilled down.
“We are working with relevant government agencies to provide the necessary support for the programme,’’ he said.
Irtwange said that the Nigerian Ports Authority had made available the Ikorodu Lighter Terminal to facilitate the packaging and movement of yams meant for export.
He said that the committee was also working with the NPA to get people who would invest in constructing yam pack houses at the terminal.
“The NPA has already given us the Ikorodu Lighter Terminal, where we can bring our yams and do all the packaging before moving them down to the ports.
“That way, we will avoid the gridlock in Apapa because now, we are using batches to move the yams from Ikorodu to Apapa,’’ he added.
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