Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal says African Development Bank AfDB will soon facilitate the establishment of an Onion Commodity Exchange in the state.
In a statement by the special adviser on media, Muhammad Bello says this was part of an agreement with the management team of the AFDB and the sokoto state Governor and some of his commissioners held last week in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
The statement said if extablished, the Onion commodity exchange would be the fifteenth of its kind in Africa and the fourth in the country after the Abuja Securities and Commodity Exchange, Lagos Commodities and Futures Exchange; and, AFEX Commodities Exchange Limited in the Country.
It also explained that Sokoto state was the largest producer of Onions in the Country.
The statement further said the governor cited an example of an individual in Abidjan, who transacts over two point eight billion naira onion trade annually from Sokoto to Côte d’Ivoire, stressing that the result of a survey carried out by the state Ministry of Commerce revealed that from onion trade alone, the state engages in an annual transaction of between two to three billion.
According to him, his administration will continue to support indigenous farmer noting that they have the potentials to increase their economic strength and purchasing power.
NASIR MALALI.