Did you know that the global palm oil industry is worth over $42.8 billion? The industry is expected to grow at a cumulative average rate of 5% annually, which is almost double the growth rate of the Nigerian economy (3.4% in 2021).
Interestingly, Nigeria used to be the top palm oil-exporting country back in the 1960s before we discovered crude oil. According to PwC and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), if Nigeria had remained the world's largest exporter of palm oil, we would be earning about $20 billion annually from cultivating and processing oil palm today. For context, the total value of Nigeria's non-oil exports in 2021 was $5.2 billion (using the average official exchange rate (IEFX) of ₦410 as of 2021).
Palm oil is an essential agricultural commodity with important household and commercial uses, such as cooking or as a key input to everyday products ranging from cosmetics
