Harnessing the Economic Potentials of Citrus Peel for Wealth Creation in Nigeria

Abstract

Citrus processing generates high volumes of co-products namely, peel and pulp and the peel comprises approximately 25 % of total weight of the fruit. Because citrus peel is rich in nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, cellulose and vitamins, its reprocessing is becoming increasingly important. Products derivable from citrus peel include dried peel, peel powder, pectin, peel essential oil, citric and lactic acids, brandy spirit, feed yeast, vinegar, marmalade and candied peel. Growing consumer interest towards citrus oil and powder has fuelled the demand for citrus peels market. Food and Beverages, Pharmaceuticals and Cosmetics industries in Nigeria depend on imports to meet the essential oils, resinoids and other citrus extracts requirement. According to the Nigeria Customs Service, a total of 183,607 kg of essential oils of citrus worth ₦244.84 million was imported into Nigeria form 2016 to 2020. Nigeria produces about 4.1 million tonnes of citrus fruits annually thereby generating over 1 million tonnes of citrus peels. The growing demand for natural flavouring agents and functional food products are driving the growth in the global citrus peel extract market for industrial applications. Therefore, there is need to develop citrus peel value chain in Nigeria for job and wealth creation. Aggregation of small groups of women and youths in cooperative societies together with training on best practices for peel collection and drying method to get premium peel is recommended to strengthen the supply chain. Establishment of citrus peel processing outfits is also recommended as a viable option to add more value to the commodity, produce raw materials for the industry and curb importation.

Keywords: Citrus peel, Citrus extract, essential oil, resinoids, value-chain, supply-chain

DOI: 10.7176/JBAH/11-20-02

Publication date:October 31^st 2021