Nigeria is targeting to produce over 10 million metric tonnes of palm oil between 2026 and 2050.
This will save the country the over $600 million spent annually on the importation of the product.
President, National Palm Produce Association of Nigeria (NPPAN), Ambassador Alphonsus Inyang, revealed this at the weekend in Abuja at a meeting between the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security and a delegation of the Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOPC), from Indonesia and Malaysia. Inyang, told the delegation and the Minister that Nigeria, which currently produces 1.4 million metric tonnes of palm oil, consumes an average of 3.2 million metric tonnes annually.
The meeting was to encourage Nigeria to join the global palm oil producing countries body as it is believed that membership of such a body will help the country raise its palm oil production through support from other member countries.
Inyang said the country that controlled over 60 per cent of global palm oil production up to around 1964, lost that position because petroleum became popular.
According to him, “I’ve followed the Council around the world and I’ve seen a lot of benefits that member countries will get from the council.
“I strongly believe that Nigeria, being the fifth largest producer in the world, and where oil palm actually started from, can work with the council to see that we regain the glory of the palm oil sector.”
He said currently at a production rate of 1.4 million metric tonnes, Nigeria is the largest producer in Africa. “We are also the largest consumer and importer, consuming 3.2 million metric tonnes.”
He informed the Minister that the technical working group set up by the ministry is coming out with a document that will see Nigeria produce over 10 million metric tonnes annually.
“Where will we sell them? If you don’t join the council to get Europe to understand that oil palm is good for health?
“As we are talking, CPOPC have set up a scientific committee and they have invited Nigeria to send a representative to that scientific committee to come out with more proven facts to present to Europe that oil palm is good.”
He said it is the work of this council that has made Europe to tone down on the sanctions on palm oil.
Earlier in her presentation the Secretary General of CPOPC, Izzanah Salleh said palm oil contributes 40 per cent of the global food security.
According to her, “40 per cent is something, it’s too big to be ignored.”
She said Nigeria should move from observer status to full membership ahead of the expiration of its observership in November 2026.
Salleh said Nigeria’s observer status, which began at the end of 2024, would lapse in November 2026, stressing the need for a smooth transition to full membership before then.
She said the Council’s mandate is to strengthen collaboration among producing countries, amplify their collective voice on global platforms and address trade and sustainability concerns affecting the sector.
“We advocate on a global level, specifically with the multilateral forums. The Council is a member of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), where as recent as July 2025, we presented the data of our member countries, the successes, the performance, and the science-backed information”, she said.
Speaking on smallholder empowerment, a Director at the Council, Mr. Yudhi Antonio Siti, said the organisation had conducted training programmes in member countries including Papua New Guinea and the Democratic Republic of Congo, with plans to extend similar initiatives to Honduras and potentially Nigeria if it becomes a full member.
Malaysia’s Ambassador to Nigeria said his country, alongside Indonesia, remains committed to supporting the Council’s objectives and strengthening cooperation among palm oil-producing nations. He described Nigeria as a strategic partner in the global palm oil landscape and pledged continued engagement in line with Nigeria’s national priorities.