Nigeria’s food market is projected to reach approximately $233.53 billion in 2025, with expectations of steady expansion at an annual growth rate of 10.76 percent between 2025 and 2030.
This projection was disclosed by Paul Marz, Managing Director of Fairtrade Messe, during his opening remarks at the 2026 Nigeria Agrofood Exhibition and Conference held in Lagos.
Marz explained that the annual event, organised in partnership with Modion Communications, continues to serve as a major platform for stakeholders across the agrofood value chain. According to him, the exhibition brings together industry players, innovators, and policymakers from Nigeria and abroad to explore solutions aimed at boosting productivity, strengthening value chains, and advancing the country’s agrofood sector.
He noted that this year’s edition, themed “Achieving World-Class Food Security in Nigeria,” recorded its highest level of international participation so far, featuring 137 exhibitors from 17 countries across four continents.
Marz added that the event facilitates direct interaction with global technology providers, encouraging knowledge transfer, improving supply chains, and supporting informed investment decisions within Nigeria and the broader West African market.
Highlighting Nigeria’s dependence on foreign technology, he revealed that the country imported food and packaging technology worth €265 million in 2024, including €121 million spent specifically on packaging solutions—making Nigeria the largest importer of such technologies in West Africa.
Also speaking at the event, the President of the Organisation for Technology Advancement of Cold Chain in West Africa (OTACCWA), Alexander Isong, expressed concern over the country’s inability to fully leverage cold chain systems.
He pointed out that the major challenge in Nigeria’s food industry now lies beyond production, particularly in post-harvest handling, storage, and distribution.
Isong disclosed that Nigeria loses between ₦3.5 trillion and ₦5 trillion worth of food annually—equivalent to about 30 to 40 million metric tonnes—due to poor storage facilities and inefficient logistics. He further noted that more than 97 percent of the country’s agricultural exports are still shipped out in raw, unprocessed form, limiting potential economic gains.
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