Indigenous commodity trader Cardinal Torch Company Limited has announced plans to transition into full-fledged agro-processing. The strategic shift aims to capture higher margins along Nigeria’s agricultural value chain and curb economic losses from exporting unprocessed commodities.
Speaking at a media parley in Lagos on Friday, August 1, 2026, David Oladunjoye Olurin, Managing Director and CEO of Cardinal Torch, revealed that the transition is part of a long-term strategy to build a legacy organization for an eventual public listing.
As part of its capital market entry, Cardinal Torch recently issued a N10 billion Series 1 Commercial Paper (CP), which recorded a 100% subscription rate. Olurin stated that the company went into the market for N10 billion and came out with N10 billion to start its next phase of processing and value addition.
The company, which began operations in 2020 as a commodity exporter, is expanding into agro-processing and manufacturing across cashew, soybean, and cocoa value chains. It is currently completing a 10-tonne-per-day cashew processing plant in Ishagamu, Ogun State, to convert raw cashew nuts into semi-processed and ready-to-eat products.
Call for Policy Support and Commodity Boards
Industry participants at the event identified weak regulation, infrastructure deficits, unreliable electricity supply, high logistics costs, and policy uncertainty as key constraints. Olurin called for the establishment of an efficient commodities board to improve coordination, monitor pricing, and provide market stability across all commodities.
Ndutimobong Sunday, Head of Business Development and Commercial at Cardinal Torch, noted that Nigerian processors face significantly higher operating costs than international competitors. She pointed out that processors buy commodities in Nigeria at the same price as competitors in Vietnam but struggle to compete due to high local processing costs.
Sunday urged the government to introduce incentives to reduce production costs and highlighted the growing importance of traceability and sustainability standards in international trade.
Chief Technical Officer Emmanuel Mshelia added that Nigeria currently captures only a fraction of the value from commodities like cashew because raw produce is exported to India and Vietnam. He emphasized that local value addition will retain more wealth within Nigeria, strengthen non-oil exports, improve food security, and create jobs.
Rising Non-Oil Export Volumes
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows that agricultural products contributed 41.04% of total non-oil exports in 2025. Cocoa led this performance, accounting for 24.61% of total non-oil exports.
According to the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Nigeria’s non-oil export volume rose to 8.02 million metric tonnes in 2025. This represents a 10% increase from the 7.29 million metric tonnes recorded in 2024, indicating growth driven by both higher quantities and prices.
