Nigeria Was Once the World’s Largest Palm Oil Producer—What Happened?

From the 1950s to the 1970s, Nigeria was the world’s largest producer and exporter of palm oil. It produced more than enough to meet domestic demand and accounted for 40 per cent of the global palm oil market. This was a period when agriculture powered the economy and was Nigeria’s main export. Alongside palm oil, Nigeria produced groundnuts, cocoa, cassava, and other crops in impressive volumes. During this golden era, Nigeria accounted for over 40 per cent of the global palm oil market, comfortably dominating international trade in the commodity. But today, that dominance has vanished. Nigeria’s share of global palm oil production has plummeted from over 40 per cent in the 1970s to less than two per cent in 2024, according to data from the United States Department of Agriculture.

In 2024, the president of the National Palm Produce Association of Nigeria, Alphonsus Inyang, revealed that Nigeria spends $600 million annually on palm oil importation. Foreign Trade Reports from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) show that crude palm oil (CPO) and palm oil fractions consistently top Nigeria’s agricultural imports, with import values exceeding ₦100 billion every year.

PAST GLORY: HOW NIGERIA EMERGED AS A GLOBAL LEADER IN PALM OIL