France is keen on improving trade relationship with Nigeria on agricultural exports, according to its Minister for Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness, Olivier Becht.

Becht made the position known during the launch of the Food for Nations digital trade platform which is a brainchild of JR Farms designed to help players within the agribusiness value chain gain access to the French market and the rest of Europe via trade.

In his welcome speech, Becht expressed confidence that the platform’s launch would greatly enhance trade relations between France and Nigeria in the agribusiness sector.

He said, “This platform marks a significant milestone in the ties between France and Nigeria. The agri-food industry stands as a beacon for cooperation between our two great nations.

“France, with its culinary heritage and its advanced technical know-how plays a pivotal role in harnessing the quality and diversity of food in the Nigerian market.”

Olawale Rotimi, the CEO of JR Farms, characterised the occasion as a celebration of collaborations that hadn’t led to expansion. He announced that the company had partnered with two French businesses to provide best agribusiness practises training to a chosen cohort.

Rotimi expressed hope that the Food for Nations platform would help Nigeria get access to the European market and mentioned that JR Farms and Air France are currently negotiating to launch Nigeria’s first food cargo.

He said, “We want to collaborate with Nigeria and Africa.  Already, we have these collaborations happening. Where we are seated here today is a product of collaboration. We want more of these collaborations and economic ties between Nigeria and France.

“With the registration code of JR Farms in France, we are also planning together with the Africa office, to acquire some farmlands in France. We are in that process at the moment. France is already exporting a lot of grain to North Africa, why not West Africa? We are also looking at commodities here that we can move to France.”

With oil and gas at the core of the economic relationship, Nigeria has been France’s top trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa and its fourth-largest trading partner overall, behind Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia.

Nigeria’s primary exports to France are natural hydrocarbons and other products of the extractive industries. French companies are also involved in the oil industry; in 2018, Total, a major French oil company started producing oil at a 200,000-barrel-per-day facility on the Egina platform.