How Nigeria can beat EU’s compliance deadline

The Nigerian cocoa market stands the risk of losing its place in the global competition if it fails to take advantage of the extension of the deadline for new European Union’s Deforestation-free Products Regulation (EUDR), an industry player has warned. Cocoa is one of the products affected by the EU’s new regulation, and records have shown that the EU is the major importer of Nigerian cocoa beans, importing about 77.73 per cent. The Managing Director of Johnvents Industries Limited, Caroline Omotoso, gave the warning while speaking with journalists in Akure. The company owns one of Nigeria’s largest cocoa processing factories with an annual capacity of 18,000 metric tonnes. The Federal Government of Nigeria had constituted the National Task Force (NTF) on EUDR compliance, led by the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari. The minister was to coordinate stakeholders, develop a traceability system, and engage with the EU on adjusting the compliance timeline. Ms ...