Dangote to begin coal exports, targets $7m daily from fertiliser sale

Africa's richest man, Aliko Dangote, has disclosed plans to export coal from Nigeria in the coming weeks.
Dangote revealed a strategy to achieve daily revenues of $6.5–$7 million from fertiliser exports within two years.
The company will also export substantial quantities of polypropylene, a move projected to save Nigeria $267 million annually by reducing import dependency.

Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has announced plans to begin coal exports from Nigeria in the coming weeks, adding another revenue stream to the growing portfolio of Dangote Industries Limited (DIL).

Speaking during a courtesy visit to the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) headquarters in Lagos on Monday, Dangote also revealed that the company is targeting daily revenues of between $6.5 million and $7 million from fertiliser exports within the next two years.

DON'T MISS THIS: Full list of stations selling cheap Dangote refinery fuel in Nigeria

“For some of you who have been to our Cement factory in Itori, we’re already exporting cement out of Nigeria. We have a whole factory of six million tons for cement export,” he said.

“In the next couple of weeks, we will start exporting coal out of Nigeria. Our fertiliser export will be almost like eight cargoes. The refinery operations will not export less than 25 million tons of various products."

Polypropylene independence

The business mogul is also setting his sights on another key petrochemical product, polypropylene. Currently, Nigeria imports about 90% of the 250,000 metric tonnes it uses each year.

Nigerian manufacturers estimate that Dangote’s new polypropylene production could save the country $267 million.

“We will also be exporting about 600,000 to 700,000 metric tons of polypropylene. So when you are talking about export, we are going to be very big.”

Earlier this month, the company said it is increasing its production from 36 million to 52 million polypropylene bags per month and is on course to increase that figure in the coming years.

Fertiliser complex to drive export revenues

Dangote Industries Limited (DIL) also revealed plans to export around 16,000 tons of fertiliser daily over the next two years, an effort expected to generate between $6.5 million and $7 million in daily revenue for the country.

DON'T MISS THIS: Dangote Refinery in advanced talks with 8 African countries over fuel supply deals

The facility is Africa’s largest granulated urea fertiliser complex, with an annual production capacity of 3 million metric tonnes, and has long supported Nigeria’s agricultural sector and reduced reliance on imported fertilisers.

According to Dangote, with the commencement of the export programme, the company is set to become a major source of foreign exchange earnings for Nigeria.

This announcement follows Dangote’s recent major agricultural investment in Niger, where, in collaboration with the state government, the company is constructing a high-capacity rice mill on a 30-hectare site.

The facility is designed to process 32 metric tons of rice per hour and will feature 32 silos, each with a storage capacity of 2,500 metric tons of paddy rice. To ensure continuous operation, a 5.8-megawatt captive power plant will also be installed.