Nigeria spent about N183.5 billion importing raw cane sugar for refining in the first half of 2026, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The figure represents imports recorded in the first and second quarters of the year, with the value of cane sugar imports falling by 26.9 per cent quarter-on-quarter to N77.48 billion in Q2 2026, from N106.02 billion in Q1, reports Vanguard.
Brazil was the sole disclosed supplier of the commodity in both quarters.
Cane sugar ranked as Nigeria’s largest imported raw material product in the first quarter and the third-largest in the second quarter.
Speaking at First Bank’s Agric Expo in Lagos, Niger State Governor, Umar Bago, said Nigeria remained heavily dependent on imported sugar despite its potential to produce the crop domestically.
Bago said the country imports about 97 per cent of the sugar it consumes, arguing that local production remains far below its potential.
“Nigeria imports 97 per cent of the total sugar we use. All our factories in Lagos, when they say they are producing, it’s not true, they process imported sugar concentrates. Only about three per cent is what we produce,” he said.
The governor said Niger State had significant potential for sugarcane cultivation, noting that the crop could be harvested several times because of the state’s favourable agricultural conditions.
“We have arable land. In fact, in my state, sugar grows in the wild, and you can harvest it five times,” Bago said.
He also highlighted the wider economic opportunities available across the sugarcane value chain, including ethanol production, molasses for confectionery and animal feed, and bagasse for electricity generation.
According to him, virtually every part of the crop could be put to productive use.
“There is no waste,” he said, adding that residual materials could also be processed into products such as roofing sheets.
Bago linked Nigeria’s dependence on food imports to the country’s broader trade imbalance, saying the nation had already imported more than $3 billion worth of food in 2026 and could see the figure approach $4 billion by the end of the year.
“We cannot rely on imports; we must have a balance of trade. Let 70 per cent of our trade be export-oriented, while 30 per cent on imports, so that it is balanced.
“But right now, we have almost 80 per cent import and about 20 per cent, maybe, export,” he said.
The governor also outlined agricultural initiatives being pursued by his administration in Niger State, including a state-owned seed research institute and a planned large-scale greenhouse project in partnership with Turkey.
He said such investments were aimed at increasing agricultural production, reducing dependence on imports and strengthening Nigeria’s non-oil export capacity.
