Bayo Akomolafe 
Despite surge in price from $523 to $544 within three weeks, five Lagos port terminals have taken delivery of 416,161 tonnes of wheat valued at N362 billion ($226.39 million) from four vessels within three weeks.
Findings from Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA)’s Shipping Position indicated that Apapa Bulk Terminal Limited (ABTL) moored Desert Glory with 53,785 tonnes; Ton Hill II, 53,444 tonnes; Spring Lotus, 53,445 tonnes; Copenhagen Commerce, 56,136 tonnes, San Antonio, 52,250 tonnes,Shanghai Eagle, 14,100 tonnes and CL Jiangmen, 24,000 tonnes.
Also, Greenview Development Nigeria Limited (GDNL) received Shanghai Eagle laden with 40,400 tonnes, Serenity, 34,513 tonnes, while Standard Flour Mills (SFM) berthed Malteza with 14,300 tonnes and Yasa Rose, 15,087 tonnes.
At Tincan Island and Calabar ports, Josepdam took delivery of 35,802 tonnes from Lyra M and Desert Ranger, 17,000 tonnes.
In February, six vessels also berthed with 209,944 tonnes of Russian wheat valued at N194 billion ($118 million) at the Lagos ports despite bad weather which hit Russian grain, leading to 30 per cent fall in export.
Of the imports to Lagos Port, NPA’s shipping data revealed that Unity Discovery with 57,029.34 tonnes; Alypso N, 54,999 tonnes and Copenhagen Commerce, 56,844 tonnes offloaded the grain at ABTL.
Also, Sweet Lady II, 37,400 tonnes and Allegra, 29,701 tonnes berthed at Greenview Development Nigeria Limited (GDNL) of the port, while Alda berthed with 31,000 tonnes at Josepdam, Tincan Island Port in January.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government had engaged over 279,000 farmers with a focus to produce about 837,891 metric tonnes in 2025.
According to the National Project Coordinator of National Agricultural Growth Scheme and Agro-pocket Project (NAGSAP), Ishaku Buba, the wheat production programme for the 2024/2025 dry season has been launched across 16 wheat-producing states, targeting 280,000 farmers.
He said that the country anticipated a significant boost in wheat production, with the expected output generating revenue exceeding ₦1.25 trillion.
Also, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari, had said that wheat farmers were expecting bumper harvest this year based on the Federal Government’s intervention in the phase one of dry season wheat production of 2024-2025, which ended on December 2024.
Kyari stressed that the Federal Government subsidised wheat seeds to the tune of 75 per cent, with farmers paying 25 per cent of the seed amount.
He noted: “Then, in terms of fertilisation, it’s also 50-50, just like we did last year, 50 per cent subsidy of fertiliser to the farmers.
We are waiting for the vegetative growth and also subsequently, the harvest sometime around March and April 2025.
“We have a lot of expectations this year because the farmers have expressed desires to go into wheat more than ever before, simply because of the attraction and the profit.”
Kyari explained that Cross River had become a wheat producing state, saying this was the first time a southern state joined the other 15 northern wheat producing states.
The minister said: “It is a pilot scheme that we’re going to have in the northern part of Cross River. Wheat, of course, is a crop that is cultivated in cold season and under irrigation.
In addition to the dry season, we also intend to pilot wet season wheat cultivation in highland areas that are temperate, that are colder, places like Taraba , Plateau , and the same Cross River.”
Meanwhile, the Head of the Russian Grain Union (RGU), Arkady Zlochevsky, said that demand from the main importers, Middle East and North Africa of Russian grain would remain stable despite the bad weather as it had maintained a strong position in Egypt and Algeria.
However, he explained that exports to Nigeria have already exceeded 3 million tonnes in the current exporting season as demand from the country had been increased due to its rapidly growing population.
