We need to get President Buhari back to post-Brexit Britain so he can come and negotiate fruit supply deals with UK retail chains

By Ayo Akinfe

(1) One huge problem the UK will face outside the European Union (EU) is that she will no longer enjoy duty-free supply of fruits and vegetables from the Mediterranean region. Trust the Spanish, Italians, Greeks, French and Portuguese, they will demand full market price for all the tropical fruits they sell to the UK from now on

(2) Companies like Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda, Iceland, etc now have to buy their fruits from Southern Europe at global market prices. With the EU protection gone, countries like Nigeria should be able to compete for access to the UK market alongside Southern European suppliers

(3) Nigeria is actually a significant fruit producer globally. We are the seventh largest pineapple producer (1.6m tonnes), sixth largest papaya producer (837,000 tonnes), 10th largest mango producer (917,000 tonnes) and 10th largest guava producer (790,000 tonnes)

(4) We need to start thinking about how to get our produce on to UK supermarket shelves. Matters that need addressing include supply guarantees, meeting international food safety standards and avoiding damage in transit

(5) During the last UK-Africa Summit in London, I did not see any farmers on President Buhari’s entourage. What would have been ideal would have been if our main fruit producers had come over and sat down with the likes of Sainsbury’s, Asda, Tesco, Iceland, etc to thrash out supply deals

(6) Just imagine if President Buhari and Prime Minister Boris Johnson had been invited along to witness the signing of a historic fruit supply deal at that summit. Trust Boris the showman, he would have bragged about it non-stop, heralding it as the great new chapter in British history and a vindication of the decision to leave the EU

(7) Our supply costs are lower than many other global fruit producers due to lesser wages.Also, the fact that we are just below Europe gives us a competitive edge over suppliers in Asia and the Americas. Post-Brexit, fresh Nigerian fruit should be arriving in the UK every day in the hundreds of thousands tonnes

(8) What our producers need is refrigerated trucks to convey their fruit from farm to port, government approved warehouses that are secure and refrigerated and then training on modern pest control methods and international food safety standards. In return, they should be asked to offer supply guarantees underwritten by the Nigerian government for long term deals

(9) I would have liked to see President Buhari assure the UK retail trade at the recent summit that Nigeria will meet all their tropical fruit requirements over the next 10 years unfailing. It would then be a case of working out the mechanics of any supply deal with the private sector operators on both sides

(10) I always try to remain optimistic, so live in hope that over the coming months, President Buhari will seize the initiative and grab the moment. He should consider this the chance in a lifetime