Experts hinge $3b non-oil target on sunflower value chain

Nigeria’s pursuit of a diversified economy, with non-oil export earnings recently topping $2.7 billion, is set for a significant boost if the country fully capitalised on the sunflower seed value chain, experts have said. South Africa is currently the African leader in production with an output of over 700,000 tons. Nigeria’s  production is still below 300,000 tons.

They contended that fully harnessing the agricultural commodity is crucial for realising the long-term, sustainable economic growth that diversification promises, projecting that Nigeria can earn an estimated $1.5 billion from seeds alone and a total of $3.5 billion from the entire value chain.

One of them is the Executive Secretary/Chief Executive, Institute of Export Operations & Management (IEOM) Ofon Udofia.

According to him, the appeal of sunflower seeds is twofold, servicing robust international demand from both the food and industrial sectors. “There’s a lot of prospect for sunflower, and the seed is where there’s a lot of much prospect because it is used in pharmaceuticals. It’s also used as an oil seed for vegetable oil,” Udofia noted.

He confirmed the commodity is “highly sought after internationally, especially in Europe.”Udofia explained that the main hurdle preventing Nigeria from realising its potential remains the need for greatly expanded local production and improved logistics. He stressed that compliance and international certification processes must be streamlined to ensure smooth movement of the commodity to global destinations, securing Nigeria’s competitive edge.

The oilseed segment provides a healthy, cholesterol-free vegetable oil, which is the fourth most consumed edible oil globally, trailing only palm, soybean, and canola oils. This high nutritional value is fueling the global sunflower seed market, which is projected to reach $2.41 billion by 2035. Furthermore, the seed’s essential use in the pharmaceutical sector provides dual-market access, insulating it from price volatility in a single industry and offering a more resilient source of foreign earnings for Nigeria.

Despite burgeoning continental demand, Nigeria’s current export revenue from the sunflower value chain is meager, around $200,000, according to stakeholders.

National President , National Sunflower Growers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria (NSUNGPMAN), Jibrin K. Bukar, noted that  Nigeria possesses immense, yet largely untapped, potential to become a global powerhouse in sunflower production, provided there is substantial investment and farmer support. Bukar stressed that a significant influx of capital is the main catalyst needed to boost the sector. “We need big time investors because by so investing into it, it will propel high level of production,” Bukar stated. He highlighted the country’s natural advantage, noting that “Nigeria has the potential to produce sunflower, to meet up with not only the continental demand but also global demand. Our soil is so good that sunflower grows almost everywhere in Nigeria except where there is waterlogged.”

Beyond investment in processing facilities, the association leader emphasised the need to incentivize local farmers. “Farmers need to be encouraged, to be incentivised, to be supported with inputs so that by supporting them it will encourage them to produce more.This increased output would directly feed the facilities of prospective investors. “If it is produced more, these investors will offtake it, they will mop it up to feed their facilities, that is their oil mill,” Bukar added.

According to him, current production figures are inadequate to meet the nation’s needs, despite a recent modest increase. “The figure is a little above 200,000 metric tonnes, but then going by the Nigerian market, it is insignificant. It doesn’t go anywhere because the demand is high,” Bukar admitted, noting that production is currently “not commensurate to the demand.” Massively increased production would lead to export opportunities, “increasing the GDP of our country, it will increase our foreign exchange.”

Bukar elaborated on the crop’s economic and health significance, noting its diverse applications across major industries. “The major components of sunflower are the food industry that has to do with the oil, the cosmetic industry that has to do with a lot of things, name it, hair shampoo, hair cream, body soap, and all sorts of things as far as cosmetic is concerned, you get it from sunflower. The oil itself is a premium product. Sunflower oil is the second best after olives, and at the global level it is the third most consumed edible oil after soya and palm. Sunflower has a lot of medicinal value, some of which it cures and prevents cancer,” Bukar asserted.

He believes that integrating sunflower oil into the Nigerian diet “will increase the health status of the citizenry because by using sunflower oil, most of the sicknesses we are suffering from will be reduced drastically.”

To officially validate these health claims, he said the association is seeking collaboration with government agencies. “We will also need support from the Federal Ministry of Health, more especially the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development so that we can certify and ascertain the contents… of medicinal values that are there in sunflower scientifically,” Bukar concluded.

Recently, he stated that production is expected to increase to over 600,000 metric tons if a few large-scale privately owned processing plants are established and could exceed 750,000 metric tons with the addition of more cottage processing plants.

Chief Executive Officer, Produce Export Development Alliance (PEDA), Adetiloye Aiyeola noted that prospects for Nigerian sunflower exports are “very, very strong,” but realising the potential hinges on urgently addressing fundamental challenges in distribution, supply chain structure, and market access.

Speaking on the global demand for sunflower products, Aiyeola noted the sheer scale of the opportunity. “Globally, the market is very rich. There’s a demand, global demand, of over 56 million tons of sunflower seeds that was produced last year. And the value of both the oil and both the seed is going to be around $58 billion by 2035,” he stated, adding that “the demand is huge and the demand is not a problem at all.”

Aiyeola emphasised that Nigeria possesses the natural capacity to produce the crop. “The Nigerian challenge has never been that we cannot grow the crop because we are blessed with abundant land and ecology to support the production, especially really around the northern region or north central region,” he explained.

The Chief Executive, however, pointed to a critical issue of inconsistency, noting that Nigeria’s sunflower exports were higher in 2021 than in 2023. This fluctuation, he said, “is obviously showing that there’s a real issue in our consistency in the standards, in the aggregation, in the supply chain programmes.”

Aiyeola stressed that international buyers have strict specifications. “Most buyers, they really want clean seeds. They want seeds with moisture stability and traceability. The consequence of failing to meet these requirements is severe: “Once a shipment fails this specification, the entire country gets downgraded in that product line,” , he said.

While acknowledging “real interest” in Nigerian sunflower seeds from key markets like Egypt, the Middle East, India, and parts of Europe, Aiyeola maintained that local stakeholders must match the opportunity with organizational rigor.

“The people that will win are the ones that will organize both the growers and the aggregators and guarantee that priority level so that we can meet the contracts consistently,” he asserted, describing this as part of the work PEDA is currently undertaking.

He concluded: “The future for sunflower from Nigeria is bright, but it is depending on if we have more structure in our supply chain.”

“I also think that if we get our supply chain right, if we get the specifications right, if we get the compliance right, traceability right, our supply chains are efficient… sunflower can become a major income crop for farmers and processors, and it can help us establish a stable export line from the country,” Aiyeola affirmed.

Recently, the  Executive Director/Chief Executive, Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Dr. Ezra Yakusak, affirmed the council’s commitment to this goal, stating, “As a trade promotion organisation, the Nigerian Export Promotion Council sees the urgent need for the sunflower value chain to be developed to the level of being internationally acceptable and highly competitive in the global market, with the high hope of growing our export volume and value.”

Nigeria’s push comes at a time of significant geopolitical disruption in the global sunflower oil market. Eastern Europe, specifically Ukraine (the largest producer) and Russia (the second largest), accounts for over 50per cent of global output. Geopolitical instability has significantly impacted their exports, causing shortages and price volatility.

The latest USDA forecasts reflect this instability: The forecast for global sunflower production has been reduced by 1 million tons for the 2025/26 marketing year, largely due to a reduced harvest in Ukraine and Russia, though partially offset by an increase in Argentina.

This supply uncertainty, coupled with rising global demand for healthier cooking oils like sunflower oil—prized for its high Vitamin E and unsaturated fats—creates a timely opening for reliable new suppliers.

For Nigeria to convert its vast potential into tangible economic gains, scaling production and achieving certification are the twin steps it must take.

Africa’s Refined Sunflower and Safflower Oil Market report said the market is set to reach 15 million tons and $20.2 billion by 2035. According to it, African continent is a critical player in the global sunflower oil market, with consumption of edible oils rising due to population growth, urbanization, and rising incomes. Countries such as Egypt (the largest importer), South Africa, and Nigeria are major importers, with Nigeria’s retail consumption growing quickly, driven by its population of over 200 million.

Experts hinge $3b non-oil target on sunflower value chain - The Nation Newspaper