Export Product Profile: Ginger

Description: Ginger (Zingiber Officinale) is a commodity that is highly valued in international markets for its aroma, pungency and high oil and Aleo resin content. Nigeria is the third largest exporter of ginger in the world after China and India. Most of the dried ginger that are available for international trade are simply sun dried over a few days, but artificial drying is also used in areas lacking a defined dry season to coincide with the harvest. The rhizome is dried to between 10 and 12 per cent moisture content. Dried ginger is usually presented in a split or sliced form. Splitting is said to be preferred to slicing, as slicing loses more flavour, but the sliced are easier to grind and this is the predominant form of dried ginger currently in the market.

Harvest: harvesting of ginger starts from October and normally continues until April/May. This largely depends on the market situation as ginger can be left on the ground (not harvested) for two years.

Locations: Ginger is produced in six states of the Federation namely, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Benue, Niger and Gombe with Kaduna as the major producer. Nigeria's production in 2005 was estimated at 110,000 metric tonnes (FAO). Out of this, 10% is locally consumed as fresh ginger while 90% is dried primarily for the export markets.

Specifications:

Moisture content:                 6-9% max

Oil content:                            1-2%

Impurities:                             0-2%max

Uses: The list of ginger uses is almost endless, being a pungent spicy herb and one of the more popular food spices. They range from baked products like gingerbread, ginger biscuits, ginger cookies to drinks like ginger tea, ginger beer, ginger ale, etc. Ginger contains about two per cent essential oil. The oil is extracted and distilled from rhizomes for various uses in confectionery, perfumery, beverages and pharmaceuticals. Dried ginger is used predominantly for flavouring coffee especially in the Middle East. It contains medicinal qualities and it is also used to calm nausea and aids digestion. Dried ginger is used in many different cooking methods. It is an important spice in Asia, the Caribbean and African cooking.

Export market: The export markets for ginger include the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Netherlands, France, United States of America, Russia, Saudi Arabia among others.

Export Price: The export free on board price varies from USD 2500 -3500/MT depending on the type and form in which the ginger is packaged and also the negotiation made with the buyers.

Local price: The local market price per MT ranges from NGN370, 000.00 to NGN450,000.00 or more depending on the quality and the period of the year.

Export Product Profile: Sesame Seeds

Description: Sesame seeds (or sesamum or benniseed) are the seeds of the tropical annual Sesamum indicum. The species has a long history of cultivation, mostly for its yield of oil. The original area of domestication of sesame is obscure but it seems likely to have first been brought into cultivation in Asia or India.

The plant is usually 60 to 120cm tall and the fruit is a dehiscent capsule held close to the stem. When ripe, the capsule shatters to release a number of small seeds. The seeds are protected by a fibrous ‘hull’ or skin, which may be whitish to brown or black depending on the variety. 1000 seeds weigh some 4-8g. The seeds have a high oil content of 44-60%.

Harvest: Harvesting begins in late December and continues through July. Each producing area stated in the next section below (Locations) has only one season.

Locations: The major producing areas in order of priority are Nasarawa, Jigawa and Benue States. Other important areas of production are found in Yobe, Kano, Katsina, Kogi, Gombe and Plateau States. The major marketing centers (towns and states) of sesame seeds in Nigeria.

Town	State
Doma	Nasarawa
Malam-Madori	Jigawa
Potiskum	Yobe
Oturkpo	Benue
Dawanau	Kano

Types/Varieties: There are 3 types of sesame (and these include: White, Black and Brown/Mixed sesame seeds). However only two of these are majorly produced in Nigeria and these includes;

1. White/raw = Food-grade used in bakery industry. 98-100% whitest grade seeds.

2. Brown/mixed = primarily oil-grade.

The White (Food Grade) seed is grown around the towns of Keffi, Lafia/Makurdi, Doma, and in Nassarawa, Taraba, and Benue States. It is easier to sort and the Fumani/Denin people consume sesame locally. The Brown/mixed grows in the North, in Kano State and in Jigawa State near Hadejia, and somewhat in the southern part of Katsina State.

Specifications

Features	% percentage
Oil content	45-60% min
Impurities	0-2%max
Free fatty acid (FFA)	1-2%max
Moisture content	6-9% max

Uses: Most sesame is processed directly into oil by the grower or within the producing region, but can also be sold in various stages of processing, for various uses, such as meal, paste, confections, and bakery products.

Input	Products	Description and Uses
Seeds	Confectionery	Fried seeds may be bound together with sugar syrup to give sweetmeats.
Seeds	Biscuits	The whole seeds can be baked into biscuits.
(Hulled) seeds	Bakery	Popular in northern Europe either incorporated into breads or as decorative toppings. May be used hulled or whole.
Seeds, sometimes roasted	Oil	Particularly used in oriental cuisine. The flavor is quite strong and rarely compatible with traditional Western style cooking but also used as a salad oil.
Oil	Medicinal treatment	Ulcers and burns
Oil	Margarine	Once an important use, now other cheaper vegetable oils are available
Oil	Aerosol	Reported use as a synergist for pyrethrum sprays
Low grade oil	Various	Soaps paints, lubricants, and illuminants. Local uses, of no importance in international trade
Hulled seeds	Tahini	A paste of sesame seeds which is used as an ingredient in eastern Mediterranean and Middle Eastern foods
Tahini	Dips &spreads	Various ingredients, such as chickpeas or eggplants, are added to Tahini to make dips and spreads such as hummus
Tahini	Halva	A sweet made from Tahini and sugar with other added flavorings
Cake	Animal feed	Protein rich useful supplement
Cake from hulled seeds	Ingredient	Used in some Indian cooking. Also as a snack in, for example, the Nigerian Kulikuli

Export market: The major importer of sesame seeds in the world is Japan while the major consuming markets in the EU are Greece, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK. In the past, the bulk of sesame was imported from China. Increasingly, other sources such as India, Sudan and, most recently, Pakistan, are taking the market share. The USA is the fifth largest import market with a steady demand for over 50,000 tonnes per year.

Export Price: The export free on board price of sesame seed varies from USD 900 -1400/MT depending on the type and form of the sesame seed and the negotiation made with the buyers.

Local price: local price per metric tonne MT of sesame seed varies from NGN80,000.00 during the peak season to about NGN120,000.00 at the off season. However local price when delivered EXW Lagos (delivered in Lagos) could range from NGN 130,000 – 160,000.00.

Understanding Cashew Nuts Quality Specifications

The crop season in West Africa is from March to June.There is not a general standard for cashew nuts but some parameters can establish the quality of the cashew and the appreciation on the market

1 - Out-turn / Yield
It is the quantity of cashew kernel that can be obtained after decorticating (remove the shell of a cashew nut) 80 kg of raw cashew nuts. The count is in pounds per 80kg.
A good out turn is from 43 to 48 lbs
An excellent out turn is from 48 to 55 lbs

2-. Nut count
It is the number or raw cashew nuts per kg
170 excellent
180-190 very good
190-200 good
200-210 middle
210-220 low middle
230 limit acceptable
lower: poor
Please note that:
- It is necessary to balance this information with the out-turn
- In West Africa most of the raw cashew nuts, depending the year, have a nut count from 190 to 210.

3- Moisture / Humidity
For export 12% and less otherwise there are risks for the goods during the shipping           

4- Foreign matter
5% max

5- Defective
Lower than 10%

6- Float Rate
This is the total number of cashew nuts that will float when poured into water.  A good float rate is  18%max

Export Product Profile: Raw Cashew Nuts

Description: Cashew (Anacardium Occidentale L.) is a tree crop of considerable economic importance to Nigeria and other tropical countries. Apart from being a source of useful products and byproducts for food, medicinal and industrial applications, cashew gives also a useful shade, while ornamental and alley trees are suitable for the control of soil erosion, particularly for the protection of watersheds and dams.

Harvest: Cashew nut setting begins in the middle of dry season, while harvesting takes place mainly in February or March. The entire harvest period occupies about 16 weeks. In the Eastern and Western parts of the country, where quality cashew nuts are grown, nuts are allowed to drop to the ground before they are collected. This practice ensures that only ripe nuts are collected. Nuts normally fall to the ground with their apples attached; the two are normally separated with a twisting action during collection. The remnants of the apple flash adhering to the nuts are removed with a sharp knife. After picking, the nuts are dried in the sun for 2 to 3 days, to reduce their moisture content to about 12 %. Properly dried nuts are packed in jute bags and can be kept for 6 to 10 months, if stored in suitable condition.

Locations: Major cashew growing areas in Nigeria are, by order of importance: Enugu, Abia, Imo, Anambra, Ebonyi and Cross River States in the eastern part of the country; Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti and Ogun States in the Western part, as well as Kwara, Kogi, Nassarawa, Benue, Taraba, Niger and FCT in the Middle Belt and also Sokoto and Kebbi States in the North West part of the country. The majority of export quality nuts come from the Western and Eastern parts of the country.

Specification: According to SGS (quality inspectors), the standard for raw cashew nuts, unshelled, is specified as follows:
i. Nut count 180-200 per kg
ii. Moisture content 8-10% max
iii. Defective nuts 15% max
iv. Float Rate 18% max
v. Admixture 0.25% max
vi. Foreign matter 0.25% max
vii. KoR, or shelling out-turn 48-50 Ibs/bag
(Obiazu, P. C.,(2000) ‘Quality Requirements for Nigeria Agricultural Products’. Unpublished Seminar Paper.)

Uses: The cashew nut is a popular snack, and its rich flavor means that it is often eaten on its own, lightly salted or sugared. In addition to this, cashew nutshell liquid (CNSL), a by-product of processing cashew, is mostly composed of anacardic acids. These acids have been used effectively against tooth abscesses due to their lethality to bacteria.

Export market: The major buyers of cashew nut from Nigeria are mainly India and Singapore. Smaller percentage goes to Europe.

Export price: The export free on board (fob) price of raw cashew nut varies from about USD 1,000-1,500/MT. However, when an exporter adds value to this product by processing it into kernels, the fob price could quadruple that of raw cashew nut.

Local price: The local price per metric tonne MT for raw cashew nuts delivered EXW Lagos (delivered in Lagos) varies from NGN120,000.00 during the peak season to about NGN160,000.00 at the off season.