Chief Eric Umeofia, the Chief Executive Officer of Erisco Foods Limited, is passionate about developing the Nigerian economy by investing in the production of high quality food products. The “Tomato King” spoke on the challenges facing indigenous manufacturers and sundry issues in this interview with Nnamdi Nwokolo.

Do we have the capacity to attain food sustainability in Nigeria?
I have said it countless times and in different forum that if we must attain food sustainability, we must look inwards. The biggest challenge to attaining self sustainability especially in tomato production is the activities of unscrupulous importers who bring in different types of substandard products in the country. As an organisation, we have done so much by putting billions of Naira in the hands of farmers as well as stopping tomato wastages across the Northern parts of the country.

Unfortunately, the Minister of Agriculture and his counterpart in Trade and Industry have failed to come and see for themselves and confirm our claims which will help them in formulating policies that help us attain food sustainability in Nigeria. With what we have done and with more support from the government, Nigeria has no business borrowing money to fund the budget as total stoppage of imported tomato paste will free so much money to fund the budget. Interestingly, it was only the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu that was impressed with what we are doing and he visited our factory to encourage us more.

What is the biggest challenge of attaining food sustainability in the country?
I must tell you that the presidential advisers in the food sustainability chain are not telling the President the truth including the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). It will interest you to know that we source our foreign exchange up to 96% from the black market and a paltry 4% from the Central Bank of Nigeria. I challenge the CBN governor to publish how much foreign exchange they give to indigenous manufacturers, let’s compare it to what importers of food products get. Most of the intervention fund being given out by the CBN is to importers of finished goods at the detriment of indigenous manufacturers.

How then can we diversify, grow the economy and attain food sustainability in the country? The CBN is technically killing indigenous manufacturers and I challenge them to a debate where I will tender evidence to support my claims. I advise the President to bring on board people that will support his policy otherwise; we will still be where we are in the next twenty years. I’m not against foreign investment in Nigeria rather, what I’m against is portfolio investors whose only aim is to make money here and repatriate it to their various countries.

Expansion plans:
We revolutionised the tomato industry by using 100% tomato fresh to produce all our brands. On Monday, the Hon. Minister for Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu visited our factory in Lagos. He saw what we are doing and encouraged us more. To be honest with you and without sounding immodest, if government bans the importation of tomato paste into this country, Erisco Foods Limited has the capacity to absorb all the employees that might be affected. Our installed capacity is 450,000 metric tons per annum and with our expansion plans in Sokoto and other parts of the country, we will be hitting one million metric tons in the coming year. In the next couple of days, we’ll be laying foundation for our Katsina factory by the Grace of God. I am committed to the Katsina project but we need the support of government to succeed as an indigenous manufacturer.

On the recent public hearing by the House of Representatives:
This is the biggest joke of the year. With due respect to the Honourable Speaker of the House of Representatives as he has done what he ought to do by calling for a public hearing. But the real problem lies in the committee that is expected to carry out the assignment. Unfortunately, the co-Chairman is on the side of importers to continue killing Nigerians claiming that Erisco is looking for monopoly whereas we encourage competition among various stakeholders, but not when you are importing the same product we are manufacturing locally. The fight to put Nigerian economy in the right track is a fight for everyone as we must all rise up to save our economy by supporting and patronizing ‘Made in Nigeria’ products.

Is the craving for foreign products a result of being of better quality?
Erisco Foods Tomato paste brands were developed, tested and proven to be of better quality than all the foreign products in the country; it is in the market for anyone who wants to check. Our products have been tested and confirmed of being of high quality and standards. This is the right time to ban the importation of tomato paste so that we can look inwards and develop the industry for our good and the good of the country.

China knows that if we get our tomato right, they are finished and they are doing everything to frustrate patriotic Nigerians who are canvassing for local production of tomato paste in the country. We spend over one billion dollars in importation of tomato paste in the country, think of what will be of the economy, if such money is injected into local farming and processing of tomatoes. The attendant benefits include more jobs will be created for the economy, the pressure on FOREX will reduce and our economy will be better for it. We have much potential to make this country great within two years using agriculture alone.

What drives you?
The driving force is to contribute my quota to national development. I have thriving businesses globally and the profits are ploughed back to subsidise the operations of Erisco Foods Limited. This is because of my commitment to make Nigeria a better place for all. Why I’m on this war path with importers is that apart from the low quality and the health implications of their products, and the flooding of the market with cheap and deadly alternatives, they stifle indigenous manufacturers forcing them to stop production. The attendant implication is that thousands of Nigerians are thrown into unemployment.

My advice to the President is to reorganize his cabinet to get the right and patriotic people that will help him to achieve his economic diversification agenda. It is important to state here that no foreigner can love or develop this country more than Nigerians. The interest of these importers is to make profit whereas the interest of indigenous manufacturers is to contribute towards economic development. If we completely jettison the importation of tomato paste in the country, believe me, with government support, we can attain self sufficiency in tomato production and processing in the next couple of years.