NEPC recommends dehydration as best means of preserving perishable export products

 The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has recommended dehydration as a means of preserving perishable export products.

Executive Director of the NEPC, Dr Ezra Yakusak, made the recommendation at a seminar on dehydration best practices of agricultural products for exports, organised by the Agency, in Owerri, on Thursday.

Yakusak, represented by NEPC’S Trade Promotion Advisor in Imo, Mr Anthony Ajuruchi, noted that this was necessary as food security remained a major global challenge.

He said that according to a recent report by the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organisation, food production would need to grow by 70 per cent so as to feed the world population which would reach nine billion by year 2050.

He decried the post harvest losses orchestrated by difficulty in preservation of perishables and called for urgent interventions to salvage the situation.

“Post harvest loss, a result of degradation in both quantity and quality of agricultural products, poses a major challenge.

“To minimize this loss, we have tested and confirmed that among the many means of preserving perishable export products, dehydration is the best, hence this workshop”, he said.

Speaking on the theme: “Enhancing the Quality of Agricultural Produce for Premium Export Value”, Dr Fidelis Ehirim, of the Department of Food Science and Technology, Imo State University, harped on dehydration as a better alternative to refrigeration.

He added that dehydrated export products were more portable, occupied less space, weighed less and lasted longer due to absence of moisture which could attract microorganisms.

He advised exporters using the dehydration method of preservation to ensure sustainability of Nigeria’s products in the global competitive market by ensuring retention of flavour, nutrients, and colour of the products.

A participant at the workshop and exporter, Mr Okechukwu Awogwugwu, thanked the NEPC for the workshop and promised to improve the quality of his product using the dehydration method.