Food safety, others inhibit papaya export

Nigeria may be Africa’s largest producer of papaya — harvesting nearly 895,000 tons annually and accounting for more than half of the continent’s estimated 1.5 million tons output — but the country is earning next to nothing from a global market now valued at $14.2 billion, industry leaders have warned.

Chief Executive Officer, Produce Export Development, Adetiloye Aiyeola, said Nigeria’s absence from the global papaya trade is becoming increasingly glaring as major importing markets across North America, Europe and the Middle East ramp up purchases.

He attributed the nation’s export invisibility largely to its inability to meet international food safety and traceability requirements, particularly the absence of Global Good Agricultural Practice (GlobalGAP) certification among domestic farms.

 “Our exports from Nigeria are really, really low. In fact, you can barely find statistics and figures for Nigerian papaya export. Just by the fact that our numbers are falling, we still are relatively close for export in terms of production globally — but we do not rise at all in terms of export,” Aiyeola said.

According to him, the global papaya market is on a strong upward trajectory and could reach $17 billion within the next five years, expanding at an annual growth rate of about 5.6 per cent.

 “Demand is rising across major markets including the United States, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, the UAE, Portugal, and Singapore — markets that Nigeria is currently not supplying in any significant capacity.

 “Global GAP is an internationally recognised standard that qualifies fresh produce for export to the world’s most lucrative markets. Currently, we don’t have one farm that is Global GAP certified. Not one farm.It means that we are not even being considered when it comes to making our own exports,” he said.

He explained that a strong domestic market has also dulled the incentive for agribusinesses to pursue export opportunities. “People are not aware of the market demands. People do not know that the market is large enough and it is a very profitable market.Buyers in Germany are always looking for papaya for months,” he said. But stakeholders insist the challenges extend far beyond certification gaps.

Executive Director, Institute of Export Operations and Management (IEOM), Ofon Udofia, described Nigeria’s papaya export chain as structurally broken, with severe infrastructure deficits crippling the sector from farmgate to airport. “There are a lot of things that are involved. We don’t have storage facilities. Those things are done by air and we don’t have the facilities. What facilities do we have in all the airports?” he said. Udofia noted that inefficiencies begin at production level and worsen along the logistics chain.“It is a problem from the farm. Traceability, packaging, handling, and then the cooling facility to take it from farm to the ports — all of these things need to be put in place in order to achieve anything meaningful. It’s a problem. It’s a big problem,” he said.

High spoilage rates caused by over-ripening, pest infestations such as papaya mealybugs, and plant diseases continue to erode production viability across West Africa, while yields in Nigeria have stagnated at between 20 and 30 tons per hectare due to adverse weather conditions and limited adoption of modern cultivation techniques. Papaya’s fragile shelf life — typically three to five days without refrigeration — further compounds losses, particularly for marketers transporting fruit to urban centres such as Lagos and Benin City. Poor feeder roads, rising fuel prices, vehicle maintenance costs and multiple checkpoints inflate transport expenses, squeezing already thin margins and leaving farmers with little incentive to target export markets. Udofia warned that without urgent public investment in cold-chain systems, airport handling infrastructure and farmer-level traceability mechanisms, Nigeria risks forfeiting its natural advantage in a rapidly expanding global tropical fruit market.

 “The government is just allowing exporters to run it as their own business. They are forgetting that the image of the country is also at stake if it is done poorly. Nobody is supporting them at all. No support. I can say it loud and clear — no support,” he said.

There are concerns that despite ranking among the world’s top three producer of papaya, Nigeria remains almost entirely absent from international supply chains even as global demand accelerates.

Worldwide production of the tropical fruit has climbed beyond 19.7 million tonnes in 2024, with projections from the Food and Agriculture OrganiSation and the OECD showing output expanding steadily by 1.9 per cent annually to about 17 million tonnes over the next decade.

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Nigeria’s production stood at roughly 877,000 tonnes in 2022, rising marginally from previous years after peaking at 887,000 tonnes in 2020. By comparison, the Democratic Republic of Congo produces about 211,046 tonnes annually, Kenya 81,446 tonnes, Ethiopia 77,656 tonnes, and Malawi 67,924 tonnes — underscoring Nigeria’s commanding lead in African supply.Yet, this dominance has failed to translate into export revenue.

According to a new market study entitled “Market Profile for Fresh Papaya from West Africa to Regional and European Markets,a comprehensive study, produced by COLEAD’s Market Insights department through the FFM+ programme, one of the challenges  of exporters from Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal is high cost of  logistics  especially the impact of air and ocean freight on pricing and market access.Importers from Europe demand  certifications such as GLOBALG.A.P., Fair Trade and organic practices

Meanwhile, as part of its commitment to a fairer, more competitive, and attractive EU farming sector—aligned with the EU Vision for Agriculture and Food for 2025–2029—the European Commission intends to intensify official controls on food imports from non-EU countries. The focus will be on food safety, pesticide use, and animal welfare.Already, the 2026 EU audit work programme revealed that 51 per cent  of the 159 planned agri-food chain controls will target non-EU countries exporting to the EU, against 33per cent  in 2025. Currently, there are stricter rules on imports of products containing traces of pesticides banned in the EU, in line with updated international standards.

This year, a dedicated EU Task Force will be launched to make import controls more efficient, consider the announced measures and coordinate EU-wide monitoring of specific imported products. The task force’s progress will be monitored by COLEAD, with any new requirements published on the AGRINFO platform.