Our trading business are in three categories - manufacturing, local supply of raw material and export of agricultural commodities to international buyers. These categories create bigger, better and more sustainable market for our smallholder farmers allowing them to start farming as a business rather than just at a subsistence level.
Sesame seeds sourced from smallholder farmers are further cleaned to meet export standards. The quality requirement is 98 percent purity that is also readily available.
Sesame Seeds are harvested from late September to November (Kano) and from November to February (Benue and Maiduguri).
Sesame is technically an oil seed used for both oil extraction and the confectionary and food sectors. It is exported in the form of seeds packed in poly or jute bags. They are primarily available in white and black colors.
Types and Grades
The trade categorizes the seeds as WHITES (which is predominantly white with very low black seed content) and MIXED Whites are used in confectionary industries and Mixed are used by oil millers for oil. Significant source of sesame exports are Burma, Sudan, west Africa and east Africa. Significant importing countries are Japan, Korea and Turkey.
Quality Specifications
Admixture | 2% max |
Oil Content | 52% max |
Free Fatty Acids (FFA) | 2% max |
Nigeria is one of the largest producers of raw cashew nuts globally. These are exported to India, Vietnam and China for onward processing.
Raw Cashew are harvested between Late February and April. We primarily export Ogbomosho cashew nuts which are known for their quality in the global market.
Quality Specifications
Out turn | 47 - 50 lbs/80kg |
Nut count | 185 - 205 Nuts/kg |
Moisture | 10% max |
Defective | 12% max |
Ginger is the underground stem (rhizome) of a perennial herb, which is used as spice and as preservative. It is sold in fresh condition or more frequently in peeled and split dried form.
Ginger is utilized widely as spice for pickles, candies and as medicinal herb. Nigeria is among the world's top 5 producers and exporters of ginger.
There are basically three grades of dried split ginger:
- ASTA/Afla-free Quality - popularly called American spec
- Fair Average Quality
- Black ginger
Quality Specifications
Admixture | 2% max |
Moisture | 13% max |
Volatile Oil | 2% max |
Shea nut is obtained from shea trees that generally grow in the wild and starts fruiting at the peak of the raining season around May - June. There are generally 2 methods of processing practiced in Nigeria - parboiling and roasting. Both are acceptable to buyers depending on their individual preferences but the practice of parboiling is best as it retains the oil content of the seed and if dried properly, Free Fatty acid (FFA) is also reduced.
Nigeria is the world largest producer of Shea nut, producing 325,000mt in 2010 with the wildly grown Shea trees predominant in 21 states across the country yet its domestic production market remains underdeveloped.
Quality Specifications
Moisture | 10% max |
Oil Content | 50% min |
Free Fatty Acid (FFA) | 8% max |
Admixture | 0.15% max |
Soybean is a leguminous vegetable of the pea family that grows in tropical, subtropical and temperate climates. It consists of more than 36% protein, 30% carbohydrates and excellent amounts of dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals. It also consists of 20% oil, which makes it the most important crop for producing edible oil.
Nigeria, is the largest producer of soybean in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), followed by South Africa. In Nigeria the haulms and post-processed pulp (soybean meal) serve as important sources of animal feed.
Quality Specifications
Moisture | 12% max |
Oil Content | 18% max |
Protein Content | 36 - 38% |
Split | 5% max |
Purity | 96 - 97% |
Nigeria is currently the tenth largest producer of maize in the world, and the largest maize producer in Africa (IITA, 2012) with nearly 8 million tons produced per annum. It is closely followed by South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda.
Maize is a favorite raw material for animal feeds. It is cheaper than many of the other feed alternatives and provides the required nutritional content for livestock. As a result, over 60 percent of maize produced worldwide is used in feed production.
Quality Specifications
Moisture | 12 - 14% max |
Foreign matter | 2% max |
Broken | 2.5% max |
Damaged Kernels | 5% max |
Admixture | 2% max |
Shriveled | 2.5 - 4.5% max |
Weevilled Grains | 1% max |
Immature | 2% |