The Federal Government has stated that it is working on a new policy on trade with Ukraine, a former member of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) with whom Nigeria shares mutual trade relations, as it reviews the current relationship.
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investments, Mr Niyi Adebayo, disclosed on Thursday during the weekly ministerial briefing at the State House.
He said the Ministry’s trade department has been mandated to analyze the ongoing war situation in the region as it concerns trade with Nigeria and institute a report which would be submitted to President Muhammadu Buhari for his approval before its release to the public.
Recent data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) warned of the impact of the war on Nigeria as it showed that since 2019, the country has received a total of $84.3 million in capital imports from Russia.
Similarly, other data from the NBS revealed that Nigeria imported milk worth N721.5m from Ukraine in 2021.
Speaking about possibilities for the future, the minister underscored with optimism that Nigeria will achieve self-sufficiency in sugar production within 10 years and hoped to start export of the commodity.
According to him, Nigeria’s current sugar demand is pegged at 1.7 metric tonnes as of 2021.
