Nigeria: Govt May Impose Levies On Imported Starch to Drive Cassava Processing

The Federal Government may impose levies on imported starch, sweeteners, flour and ethanol soon in a bid to check food import bill and encourage investments in the processing of cassava, from which the products are obtained.Despite been the world largest producer of cassava, Nigeria still imports most of its industrial starch, a by-product of cassava, a trend the Federal Government hopes to reverse under an industrial cassava policy, which when implemented, would see the nation saving about $700 million or N252 billion (N360/$1) spent yearly on importing these products.

While the current processing capacity stands at about 35 per cent, industries dependent on the by-products from processed cassava may have no other option than to look inwards as government continues to explore measures to substitute importation by a way of imposing levies between zero to 60 per cent. For operators in the pharmaceutical, textiles, bakeries, beverages, distilleries among other food sector operators dependent on starch, sweeteners and ethanol, importation has remained a viable option due to cheaper prices and inability of local suppliers to meet their demands.

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