Benue Opens West Africa’s Largest Fruit Concentrate Plant, Targets $68 Billion Import Bill
Iorfa Akpen
Thirteen years after it was abandoned, a fruit concentrate factory in Benue State was commissioned on Saturday 27 June, with Governor Rev. Fr. Dr. Hyacinth Iormen Alia calling it a turning point for Nigeria’s agriculture sector.
In a speech by the Managing Director BIPC Raymond Asemakaha said commissioning was “not just a ceremony” but a wake-up call.
“That factory was abandoned 13 years ago. Thirteen years of silence. Thirteen years of rust. Thirteen years of watching our oranges, mangoes, tomatoes and pineapples rot on farms while we imported the very concentrate we would have produced here,” he said. “That was the mistake of the past.”
According to the MD, the Bensono Concentrate Factory was rebuilt in 18 months through “resilience and commitment.” The facility is equipped with automated fruit processing lines for mangoes, oranges, pineapples and tomatoes.
Officials said the plant is a multi-billion dollar investment and, based on records from partners SONO-Group, is the only concentrate plant of its kind in West Africa as of today.
The factory has a processing capacity of 4 tons per hour, or 40 tons per day over a 10-hour shift, with an output of 240,000 litres per day. It is designed to produce concentrate at 63 Brix, the highest grade for international markets.
Employment impact is projected at over 500 direct jobs. More than 5,860 orchard farmers have already registered as suppliers, a move the government says will keep Benue’s fruits in the state. Fruit chaff from production will be processed into organic fertilizer.
Asemakaha said the plant is a direct response to Nigeria’s N68 billion spend on concentrate imports in 2025 and the estimated 85 percent post-harvest losses farmers currently face.
“We are no longer just growers, we are now processors,” he said. “Every bottle of concentrate that leaves here is a naira saved from import and a dollar earned in export. This is how we move from the ‘Food Basket’ to the Food Factory of Nigeria.”
He described the project as proof of leadership “not excuses, but action,” and said it shows what is possible “when bold vision is matched with long-term investment, execution, and integrity.”
The commissioning coincides with Benue State’s 50th anniversary and the 60th birthday of the governor, whom he described as a “pace setter.”
The event ended with prayers for farmers, the BIPC Board and Management, youth, Benue State, and the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
