Merchant urges FG to prioritise palm oil production

The Federal Government and states have been urged to prioritise palm oil production to salvage the economy and save the country from present global economic crisis.

The Chief Executive Officer of Wamak Oil Ltd, Olawale Makinde, made this appeal recently while speaking with The Guardian in Akure, adding that only few people were aware that palm oil has larger economic benefits than crude oil.

“Over the years, unknown to many, palm oil has always been more expensive than petrol, and the demand has always been on the increase.

“In 2019, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, urged everyone to pay attention to palm oil as it is way more expensive than crude oil in the global market.

“Palm oil is very versatile; it’s not only used in cooking but also used industrially as cosmetics, bio-fuel, cleaning products, soaps and for hair care products.

“Currently, a 25-litre keg of petrol is N4,125 while 25-litre of palm oil is over N18,000. The margin is incomparable. The current barrel of palm oil is over N108,000 while a barrel of crude oil is below N32,000.

“The consumption of palm oil in Nigeria is still relatively low and the government still spends over $500 million yearly in palm oil importation to meet up. This tells you that the market is larger than you can imagine.

“Also, there is a global response against the excessive use of crude oil to counter global warming by replacing it with bio-fuel, batteries, solar power, hydro power and so on, but as for palm oil, there has been higher demand globally and this can never drop.”