Dear Subscriber,
China is the world’s largest consumer of sorghum with an annual demand of 10mn tonnes. However, it has a demand gap of 7.6mn tonnes which is met largely through imports from the US. The escalating trade dispute between the US and China, primarily due to the trade imbalances between these economies, has adversely affected China’s sorghum imports. This could be positive for Nigeria, the world’s 2nd largest sorghum producer (after the US), as the country will be a likely consideration to meet China’s growing demand.
Nigeria’s credit-to-GDP ratio is 23% significantly lower than Ghana (35%) and South Africa (178%) due to the high interest rate environment. It is ranked 13th out of 15 ECOWAS states for financial integration. Hence, the importance of availability of credit through financial integration is growing significantly.
In this edition of the FDC Bi-monthly publication, the FDC Think-Tank analyzes these issues and their implications on businesses and investments.
Enjoy your read!
