Stockfish called “panla” in Yoruba and “Okporoko” in Igbo is a coveted source of protein in many Nigerian delicacies.
Findings from local traders in Lagos revealed that a bag of stockfish sells for around a hundred thousand to one hundred and fifty thousand- about five times the price of regular fish like croaker.
Stockfish is produced in faraway Norway where the fish are dried in the open winter for three months. Norway’s climate makes it possible for her to produce these fish by drying them naturally.
However, it is near impossible to do so in Nigeria due to our hot and humid temperature.
Nigeria’s stockfish imports
In 2022, Nigeria imported around N3.2 billion worth of stockfish from Norway. Although the figure decreased by 5.9% from N3.4 billion in 2021.
The CBN’s addition of stockfish among the list of items restricted from access to forex due to forex shortfalls is partially responsible for the drop in stockfish import.
Difficulties of the stockfish business
Nonso- a stockfish trader speaks on the difficulty in the business.
- He said, “We have to source dollar from the black market because we cannot wait for CBN”
According to him, a container of stock cost around N8 million about 15 years ago but today it sells for roughly N45 to N50 million. He noted that the forex scarcity and the high cost of importation have forced some traders out of the business.
For those of them still in the business, they have been forced to adapt.
- He noted “To encourage patronage, we decided to cut the stockfish into bits- if you move around this market now, you’ll see people cutting the cod(stockfish) into smaller pieces.
- “This is to make sure people who cannot buy the full stockfish, buy in the sizes they can afford”.
This explains why stockfish is now sold in small sachets priced at about fifty to one hundred naira each.
Nigeria- an indispensable market for Norway stockfish producers
Producers in Norway also lament that the rise in energy costs has affected the cost of producing the stockfish in terms of drying and other expenses.
The high cost of producing stockfish and the forex volatility in Nigeria has reduced imports of the commodity to Nigeria.
To ensure steady and continuous patronage, producers in Norway have searched for new markets.
Nora Falch, co-owner of Saga Fisk speaking to Business Insider Africa noted that in other new markets they’ve ventured into, it’s the Nigerians living in that country that still buy the products.
- According to her, “It’s funny because we have been trying to sell to other countries this product, and every time, we think we found a new market, we discover it was really the Nigerians living in the Netherlands, or England, or the U.S. So, it’s always the Nigerians who like this”
She noted that around 99% of the stockfish produced in Norway are exported to Nigeria.