By Modupe Gbadeyanka

An exclusive genetics partnership has been entered between VikingGenetics and Arla Foods to help meet Nigeria’s growing demand for dairy commodities.

The deal will allow Arla, which launched its dairy farm in Kaduna State recently, to use 100 per cent X-Vik sexed semen from VikingGenetics bulls in the herd.

By exclusively using sexed semen, the outcome will be even more VikingHolstein heifer calves to expand the herd. In the near future, heifers could also be sold to other farmers in Nigeria for them to benefit local production further.

“Arla aims to increase the cows’ milk yield, and introducing Nordic cattle genetics into the Nigerian market can unlock much of the untapped potential in the country’s dairy industry,” the Export Manager for VikingGenetics, Mr Seppo Niskanen, said, adding that, “Together, Arla, VikingGenetics, and Livestock Genetics of Africa have selected the right bulls to achieve this.”

Ahead of unveiling its new farm in Kaduna on May 26, 2023, VikingLivestock imported 216 Danish VikingHolstein heifers on May 9.

The heifers, which will be inseminated with 100 per cent sexed semen from VikingGenetics bulls, are housed at a brand-new facility focused on animal welfare and house up to 750 dairy cows.

The cows were brought into the country to help meet the growing demand for milk.

Nigeria has one of the fastest-growing populations in the world, putting pressure on food producers’ ability to meet the demand of nearly 40 per cent of the current market for milk and milk products.

“VikingGenetics is honoured to support Nigeria’s agricultural growth and is eager to participate in this long-term partnership. We are delighted to bring our robust and healthy Nordic dairy cattle genetics to Nigeria,” the CEO of VikingGenetics, Louise Helmer, said.

“With a daily production of 30 to 40 litres of milk, VikingGenetics’ breeds can benefit areas where farmers experience average yields of 1-2 litres daily. Helmer added that this would greatly help farmers and their communities, increase yields, boost income, and enhance access to nutritious food,” Helmer added.

It was gathered that this collaboration would involve the delivery of livestock, semen, and expert advice, ensuring that Arla and the Nigerian farmers receive a complete, ready-made solution.

This provides the farm with high-quality genetics and animals with high milk yields that will support dairy production in Nigeria for years.

“With this project, we share our knowledge, create an economically viable off-take market for local milk and show a way for the future of Nigerian dairy farming,” Arla Farm Manager, Snorri Sigurdsson, stated.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 0.38 per cent appreciation on Thursday, June 8, with investors gaining N3.84 billion at the close of transactions.

This was because the market capitalisation of Nigeria’s unlisted securities bourse finished at N1.011 trillion during the session compared with the previous day’s value of N1.007 trillion.

Following the same trend was the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI), which was fortified by 2.78 points to wrap the session at 731.03 points, in contrast to the midweek trading day’s 728.25 points.

The fortification was triggered by 11 Plc, which added N11.94 to its value to close at N131.34 per unit versus Wednesday’s closing price of N119.40 per unit, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which gained 24 Kobo to close at N69.98 per unit versus the N69.74 it finished at the last session.

The duo ensured that the losses posted by two stocks did not overpower the market.

The price of Nipco Plc went down by N2.00 to end at N70.00 per share against N72.00 per share in the previous session while Geo Fluids Plc lost 13 Kobo to end at N2.77 per share versus N2.90 per share.

Yesterday, investors transacted 2.1 million units of shares on NASD, 2,243.3 per cent higher than the 89,903 units of shares traded in the preceding session.

Also, the value of shares traded during the trading day increased by 248.1 per cent to N32.2 million from N9.2 million, as the number of deals grew by 33.3 per cent to 16 deals from 12 deals.

Geo-Fluids Plc closed the market as the most traded equity by volume (year-to-date) with 833.1 million units worth N1.3 billion, IGI Plc occupied second place with 628.3 units valued at N49.5 million, while UBN Property Plc was in third place with 395.9 million units worth N336.6 million.

Similarly, VFD Group Plc closed as the most traded stock by value (year-to-date) with 11.0 million units worth N2.5 billion, Geo-Fluids Plc followed with 833.1 million units valued at N1.3 billion, while FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc was in third place with 17.8 million units worth N1.3 billion.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) seems to have signalled plans to gradually merge the exchange rate regimes in the country into one, as directed by President Bola Tinubu in his inaugural speech on May 29, 2023.

This is because the exchange rate of the Naira to the US Dollar was adjusted on Thursday in the official market, which is the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window of the foreign exchange market.

Data obtained by Business Post from the FMDQ Securities Exchange, the official channel to track the government-approved FX market, indicated that the local currency was devalued by 1.04 per cent or N4.83 to N469.50/$1 compared with the preceding session’s N464.67$1.

It was observed customers bid the Naira to the Dollar in the spot market yesterday as low as N460.00/$1 and as high as N476.50/$1, amid a significant decrease in the value of forex transactions recorded during the session.

Data showed that the turnover for the trading day was $74.18 million compared with the previous day’s $140.31 million, representing a shortfall of 47.1 per cent or $66.13 million.

Also, in the black market, the Naira depreciated against the United States currency by N2 on Thursday to trade at N760/$1 compared with the midweek session’s rate of N758/$1.

However, in the Peer-2-Peer (P2P) segment, the domestic currency gained N2 against the greenback to close at N770/$1 versus Wednesday’s value of N772/$1.

In the interbank window, the Naira shed N4.31 against the Pound Sterling to quote at N576.99/£1 versus its previous rate of N572.68/£1 and lost N1.89 against the Euro to settle at N495.79/€1, in contrast to Wednesday’s N493.90/€1.

The cryptocurrency market recovered yesterday as the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s crackdown on heavyweight cryptocurrency exchanges Binance and Coinbase (COIN) failed to shake the market further as Bitcoin (BTC) added 1.3 per cent to sell at $26,597.62, while Ethereum (ETH) grew by 1.2 per cent to $1,851.27.

Binance Coin (BNB) jumped by 2.2 per cent to $263.72, Solana (SOL) gained 2.1 per cent to sell at $18.98, Ripple (XRP) recorded a 2.0 per cent rise to $0.5266, Dogecoin (DOGE) appreciated by 1.4 per cent to $0.0680, Cardano (ADA) added 0.9 per cent to its value to close at $0.3246, and Litecoin (LTC) rose by 0.5 per cent to $88.80, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and Binance USD (BUSD) traded flat at $1.00 each.