Economy
Olam Agri Invests in Innovative Food Production Processes
By Modupe Ggbadeyanka
To enable Nigerians to enjoy quality, nutritious and affordable foods, a leading agribusiness in food, feed and fibre, Olam Agri, said it is investing in innovative food production processes and food fortification facilities such as Vitamin Premix.
The Country Head of Olam Agri Nigeria, Mr Ashish Pande, said this was why the company established the Seeds for the Future initiative, a multi-million naira, multi-year value chain intervention project targeted at driving Nigeria closer to attaining wheat production self-sufficiency.
The initiative was initially launched in 2021 but has since been scaled into a full-fledged foundation focusing on supporting farmers and farming communities to strengthen local wheat production; enabling wider education and skills development for young people; empowering women in farming communities; and promoting health and nutrition across the country.
“Olam Agri continues to work with an increased number of smallholder farmers to improve their operations while prioritising research in high-yielding seeds,” he stated.
“We are making an extensive investment in our manufacturing plants, locating them in strategic locations. As well, we are investing in innovative food production processes and food fortification facilities such as Vitamin Premix to enrich the quality and safety of our deep line of packaged food portfolios.
“Our fleet operations coverage has widened greatly in the past couple of years. These investment efforts are geared towards improving access to quality, nutritious and affordable food in the country,” Mr Pande added.
The country head said that Seeds for the Future’s impressive first-year report, which showed that the business achieved its milestone of producing 10kg pre-multiplication wheat seed varieties that suit the unique local topography and climate, is a huge step towards enriching the country’s food production value chain.
“We will keep leveraging our in-country capabilities and expertise, which have seen us emerge as market-leaders in flour milling, pasta and rice production, integrated animal feed and poultry operations, to widen the supply of safe, quality and affordable food to the Nigerian market,” he further said.
Olam Agri has established a strong list of fortified packaged foods portfolios in the country. Among the packaged food portfolios are top brands such as Mama Gold Flour, Crown Premium Pasta, Mama Pride Rice, and Cherie Noodles with some of the top global food safety certifications such as the Food Safety System Certification 22000 (FSSC 22000) and the International Standard Organization certification (ISO 9001:2015).
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira lost 33 Kobo or 0.02 per cent against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Thursday, May 14, to trade at N1,370.89/$1 compared to the preceding day’s N1,370.56/$1.
However, the local currency further appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official FX market during the session by N1.61 to close at N1,851.38/£1 versus N1,852.99/£1, and improved its value against the Euro by N2.21 to trade at N1,602.98/€1 versus Wednesday’s closing price of N1,605.19/€1.
Also, at the GTBank forex counter, the Nigerian currency gained N1 against the Dollar yesterday to sell for N1,381/$1 compared with midweek’s rate of N1,383/$1, and at the black market, it closed flat at N1,385/$1.
Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that interbank FX turnover fell to $78.783 million across 103 deals from $130.549 million the previous day.
The Naira is forecast to be broadly stable, supported by dollar sales by the central bank and steady, higher oil receipts, with the market settling into a balance.
As of May 12, 2026, the country’s external reserves increased by $150 million or 0.2 per cent to $48.48 billion from $48.33 billion on May 5, 2026, providing support for the domestic currency.
In the cryptocurrency market, major digital coins closed mixed amid broader macroeconomic selling pressure.
Also, the US Senate Banking Committee approved the bipartisan Clarity Act, a key step toward comprehensive crypto market structure legislation that now heads toward a merger with a similar Agriculture Committee bill.
Investors bet that clearer US rules, including the Clarity Act’s separation of payment stablecoins from investment assets, will ease regulatory overhangs on its use case.
On the geopolitical scene, President Trump said the US does not need to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, changing an earlier stance and deepening concerns about elevated energy costs feeding into inflation.
Ripple (XRP) grew by 1.8 per cent to $1.46, Binance Coin (BNB) jumped 1.0 per cent to $676.37, Bitcoin (BTC) improved by 0.7 per cent to $80,371.72, and TRON (TRX) gained 0.6 per cent to sell at $0.3529.
But Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 1.3 per cent to $0.1134, Ethereum (ETH) depreciated by 0.9 per cent to $2,247.38, Solana (SOL) went down by 0.7 per cent to $90.65, and Cardano (ADA) weakened by 0.1 per cent to $0.2656, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited gave up 0.10 per cent on Thursday on the back of profit-taking in most of the main sectors of the market.
Data from Customs Street showed that the insurance counter closed in green after it chalked up 0.46 per cent. This was not enough to offset the losses recorded by the others.
Business Post reports that the selling pressure witnessed yesterday contracted the banking space by 0.92 per cent, crashed the consumer goods segment by 0.13 per cent, battered the industrial goods index by 0.03 per cent, and depleted the energy counter by 0.02 per cent.
As a result, the market capitalisation retreated by N170 billion to N161.669 trillion from N161.839 trillion, and the All-Share Index (ASI) moderated by 265.08 points to 252,243.11 points from 252,508.19 points.
Despite the poor outcome, investor sentiment remained strong. The market breadth index was positive during the session after the bourse finished with 37 price gainers and 29 price losers.
Zichis eased by 9.99 per cent to N32.69, FTN Cocoa lost 9.87 per cent to trade at N9.95, Meyer depreciated by 9.83 per cent to N21.55, RT Briscoe shrank by 9.41 per cent to N15.40, and Neimeth contracted by 7.44 per cent to N9.95.
On the flip side, Learn Africa gained 10.00 per cent to sell for N9.90, Fidson appreciated by 9.97 per cent to N124.60, Austin Laz grew by 9.95 per cent to N4.09, Berger Paints rose by 9.92 per cent to N154.00, and Deap Capital increased by 9.90 per cent to N5.77.
Yesterday, market participants transacted 1.0 billion equities valued at N41.6 billion in 74,822 deals versus the 1.9 billion equities worth N118.1 billion traded in 76,557 deals a day earlier, showing a decline in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 47.37 per cent, 6.48 per cent, and 2.27 per cent, respectively.
Chams exchanged 127.9 million shares for N501.2 million, VFD Group sld 10.7.1 million stocks worth N1.2 billion, First Holdco posted a turnover of 75.6 million equities valued at N5.4 billion, Access Holdings traded 50.3 million stocks worth N1.3 billion, and UBA transacted 44.9 million shares for N2.0 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Crude oil marginally appreciated on Thursday after it was reported that about 30 vessels had crossed the Strait of Hormuz, with Brent crude oil futures gaining 9 cents or 0.09 per cent to trade at $105.72 a barrel, and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures expanding by 15 cents or 0.15 per cent to $101.17 a barrel.
Iranian state media reported that about 30 Chinese vessels were allowed safe passage by Iran through the Strait, which has been largely shut since the Iran war broke out at the end of February.
Before the report, a Chinese supertanker carrying 2 million barrels of Iraqi crude sailed through the contested waterway on Wednesday after being stranded in the Gulf for more than two months, while a Panama-flagged crude oil tanker managed by Japanese refining group Eneos had also passed.
Bloomberg also reported that the vessels were allowed to pass the Strait of Hormuz with the coordination of the Iranian authorities and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ navy, however, it added that it is yet unknown or unclear whether the US Navy side of the de facto blockade will also let them pass.
The move also follows formal requests by China’s foreign minister as well as its ambassador to Iran, with Iran reportedly agreeing based on safeguarding the two allies’ strategic partnership.
It also comes as President Donald Trump’s ongoing state visit to China, where he and President Xi Jinping agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must be open for the free flow of energy.
President Xi expressed interest in purchasing more US oil to reduce China’s dependence on the Strait of Hormuz, according to the White House. China, the world’s largest oil importer, is not a big buyer of US crude and has not imported any since May 2025 due to a 20 per cent import tariff imposed during the trade war.
Iran, a member of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), also appears to have tightened control over the strait, cutting deals with Iraq and Pakistan to ship oil and liquefied natural gas from the region.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said the global economy is clearly moving into a middle “adverse scenario,” which would see global real GDP growth falling to 2.5 per cent this year from 3.4 per cent growth in 2025, citing the Iran war as the cause.
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