Tomato producer rebuilds consumers confidence in local products
By Sunday Ogundiran
A Nigerian tomato paste producer, Prince Akindele Badmus has charged Nigerians to patronise locally produced tomato paste to help the economy of the country, adding that the locally produced ones are more hygienic than the imported ones.
Badmus, the Managing Director of Guini Royal Company located in Isolo said there is need for the consumers to patronize the locally produced goods not only to help the economy but to also break the jinx of absolute dependence on importation.
The company, which commenced operation in Isolo last year, is one of the few local producers of tomato paste as more than 90 per cent of tomato paste consumed in Nigeria is imported.
ECHONEWS learned that even the few ones operating in Nigeria import most of the ingredients from foreign countries and only re-package the product in Nigeria.
However, Badmus told our correspond that all the ingredients used by his company are sourced locally, saying the company gets raw materials from its farm as well as from open markets around Lagos state.
“We have tomato farm from which we get raw fresh tomatoes for production on daily basis. We also complement the ones we harvest from our farm by buying from open market too. We use concentrate which is also sourced locally with multiple vitamins which make our product last for 12 months before it expires. We don’t get any of our ingredients from foreign countries,” he explained.
Asked why the product is yet to bear the registration number of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Badmus explained that although the company started operation just last year, it has been certified by NAFDAC but still waiting for the registration number, stating that the process of getting the number is not easy.
He added that the company has also registered with the corporate Affairs Commission CAC.
The Guinni Tomato MD therefore urged the prospective consumers of the product to have confidence in product, saying it is purely hygienic and produced locally different from the imported tomatoes with low hygiene that are re-bagged in the country.
