Nigeria’s palm oil import bill rose sharply by 194.4 per cent year-on-year to N23.16 billion in the first quarter of 2026, from N7.87 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.
The figure is contained in the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Foreign Trade in Goods Report. It also represents a 65.4 per cent increase quarter-on-quarter, rising from N14 billion in Q4 2025.
The surge in imports comes despite Nigeria’s favourable climate for growing oil palm. The country has about 27 palm oil-producing states, including all nine Niger Delta states and several states in the South-East.
Nigeria currently consumes about 2.4 million tonnes of palm oil annually, while domestic production is estimated at 1.5 million tonnes, leaving a supply gap of roughly 900,000 metric tonnes that is largely filled through imports from West Africa and Asia.
About 80 per cent of Nigeria’s palm oil production comes from smallholder farmers, many of whom still depend heavily on manual processing methods. The remaining 20 per cent is produced by larger processors, including Okomu and Presco.
The Managing Director of Okomu Oil Palm Plc, Graham Hefer, said continued competition from imported palm oil was putting pressure on domestic prices.
He warned that the influx of poorly taxed and potentially substandard foreign palm oil was undercutting local producers and could threaten investments and expansion in Nigeria’s oil palm industry.
NPPAN: Actual Import Bill Could Be Higher
President of the National Palm Producers Association of Nigeria (NPPAN), Dr Alphonsus Inyang, said the country’s actual palm oil import bill could be higher than the official figures.
Inyang told Vanguard AgroBiz that Nigeria’s annual palm oil consumption could be around three million tonnes, while domestic production is roughly half that amount.
He said the shortfall is being met through imports from countries including Indonesia, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin Republic, Togo and Cameroon, alongside production from major local processors such as Presco and Okomu.
According to Inyang, rapid urbanisation is also driving demand, with about 49 per cent of Nigerians now living in urban areas. Palm oil is widely used in products such as bread, cosmetics, baby formula, detergents, soap and margarine.
He noted that Nigeria’s population is growing by about 3.5 per cent annually, while demand for palm oil is increasing by about 2.2 per cent each year.
Inyang said NPPAN wants to work with the Federal Government and state governments to close the production gap, particularly by encouraging rural households to cultivate oil palm.
He pointed to Indonesia and Malaysia as examples of countries that developed their palm oil industries with the help of smallholder farmers.
NPPAN is also developing a plan to build a $20 billion oil palm economy within five years across two million hectares, with the association seeking direct government support to implement the proposal.
Olatujoye: Population Growth Is Driving Imports
Chief Henry Olatujoye, CEO of Palmfield Development and Processing Limited and former NPPAN president, said the rising import bill reflects population growth outpacing Nigeria’s domestic production capacity rather than simply being a result of government policy failure.
He said Nigeria’s commercial oil palm plantation base remains far smaller than those of major producers Indonesia and Malaysia.
Indonesia has close to seven million hectares under cultivation, while Malaysia has about five million hectares. Nigeria, by comparison, has an estimated 250,000 hectares of commercial plantations, alongside about two million hectares of wild groves.
Olatujoye explained that around 80 per cent of imported palm oil is used for industrial purposes, where the oil must have a free fatty acid (FFA) content below five per cent.
Locally produced palm oil, which is commonly preferred for cooking, typically has an FFA level of between 10 and 15 per cent and therefore does not meet the specifications required for some industrial processes.
“It’s not government’s fault. To establish an automated factory that can process daily harvested bunches, you need billions of naira and enough plantation capacity to back it,” he said.
He also said Nigeria’s preference for crude palm oil for cooking differs from consumption patterns in Malaysia and Indonesia, where refined vegetable oil is more widely used.
According to him, this limits the amount of locally produced oil that meets industrial specifications, keeping Nigeria dependent on imports as its population continues to grow.
Expert Blames Limited Value Addition
Dr Oseni Tijani, a research scientist at the Nigerian Institute of Food Science and Technology (NIFST), said Nigeria’s supply problems are also linked to inadequate value addition and limited knowledge of modern palm oil processing techniques.
Tijani also questioned how Nigerians consume palm oil, arguing that the thick settled portion should not be consumed as food because it is better suited as an industrial raw material.
She said the liquid fraction contains compounds including carotenoids, phytosterols, tocopherols and vitamins, which she linked to immune and cardiovascular benefits.
The rising import bill therefore reflects a combination of growing domestic demand, limited plantation capacity, processing challenges, industrial quality requirements and Nigeria’s continued dependence on imported palm oil to bridge its supply deficit.
Source:NBS
