Make Money Exporting Foodstuffs

Food Exporting Business Opportunity

Another opportunity has emerged for business-minded individuals seeking ideas on what they can do to earn a living or for those of you working, to earn extra cash.

The local foodstuffs exportation business is growing rapidly kudos to the rising number of Africans living abroad.

This form of entrepreneurship was discovered by some locals who at one time traveled abroad to visit relations or do business and on getting there found out that the local kind of delicacies like egusi, amala, onugbu, fio-fio, pounded yam, and Oha soup, etc are rarely available and when seen in an African restaurant, very costly.

This gap in getting local dishes abroad has opened opportunities also for foreigners living abroad setting up restaurants. Also in the last two decades, restaurants across Europe and America have thrived, making these delicacies a regular feature on their menus.

Different Local Delicacies

To sustain their business, they have practically created a good opportunity for exporters, who have since been supplying them with a variety of foodstuffs to keep their business going.

The sheer volume of those involved in the running of these African kitchens, as they were, has indicated that a massive supply gap must be plugged, especially on a daily basis.

At a seminar organized in Lagos, Nigeria, the Chief Executive, The Thy Consulting (Member of The Thy Global Investment Limited, a food exporting company), Ismail AbdulAzeez, said the demand for local foodstuffs in Europe and America is rising due to increasing number of Africans, particularly Nigerians, sojourning there.

This, he explained, has created the need for foodstuffs exporters to supply African restaurants in the United States (US) and Europe.

He listed the commodities in demand as smoked fish, crayfish, garri, beans flour, melon seed, ogbono, cassava flour, bitter leaf, dried pumpkin leaf, pepper, pap, and vegetable leaves, among others.

According to him, there is a market for traditional and innovative food products in North America and Europe, but buyers are interested in high-quality food products and strict safety standards.

He explained that foodstuff presents a great opportunity for small companies to enter the overseas food market.

According to Ismail, the volume of Nigerian export of foodstuffs to these countries is still on a very small scale considering the estimation of well over 20 million Nigerians, who reside outside the country, with the majority living in the United Kingdom (UK) and the US. This, he noted, has created opportunities for more Nigerians to come into the business to meet increasing demand.

How to Make Money Exporting Foodstuffs

Describing it as an opportunity for Nigerians who want to start a small export business, AbdulAzeez said the first thing is to find out from a relative abroad what kinds of local delicacies are in demand.

After that, the new entrants will identify where to source such food products locally.

According to him, exporters of agricultural consumer products would be well served to get in touch with knowledgeable Nigerians living in Europe and the US as many members have a great degree of expertise in the complex market. For food products to do well, a combination of good marketing and attractive packaging, he said, is a must together with quality produce.

Though one can start small, he advised on the need to incorporate a limited liability company, register with Nigerian Exports Promotion Council (NEPC), has an e-mail address, a mobile phone, and a domiciliary account with a bank.

He emphasized further the need for local training to reduce losses incurred by Nigerian exporters due to non-compliance with health standards on food produce exports.

He said with a large number of Africans in the Diaspora, the potential of food export business is vast in Europe and America where Nigerians visiting such places flock to ethnic-food shops, supermarkets, natural and organic food stores, fair trade co-ops, industrial end-users, and the many layers within the foodservice industry to buy local foodstuffs.

According to him, food export opportunities exist around the world and some key markets have the potential for increased purchases from local exporters.

Small foodstuff exporters, he said, have an opportunity to build on a strong reputation for quality food products and grow sales in a few years.

I, therefore, urge our youths and agribusiness entrepreneurs to make good use of this great opportunity as this does not require one to break the bank before starting. All that is required has been categorically stated here. There is already an emerging group of exporters making money from exporting African foods abroad. Even the foreigners also enjoy these foods and this is helping to increase the prices of these commodities as demand is higher than supply.

This opportunity may not last a lifetime, the sooner you start, the better for you, the smarter for you, and the more money for you before the business is saturated with bigger competitors which is imminent.