Lagos — Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote said on Thursday he was “comfortable” with the impact President Donald Trump’s tariffs would have on his urea exports to the U.S. because major competitor Algeria had been slapped with a higher levy.
Trump imposed a 14% tariff on imports from Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil exporter, as part of widespread trade measures introduced last month, later paused for 90 days.
Dangote told an investment conference in Lagos that Dangote Fertiliser, which began commercial operations in 2022, shipped 37% of its 3 million metric tonnes of urea production to the United States.
He said he was initially worried by Trump’s tariff on Nigeria, which also exports crude to the U.S.
“But when I checked who we are really competing with, we are competing with Algeria. So luckily for us Algeria were slapped with 30%,” said Dangote. “So it actually makes us a bit comfortable.”
Dangote, who built Africa’s largest petroleum refinery, said he expected revenues from Dangote Group, also a major cement producer, to grow to more than $30 billion next year from about $25 billion projected in 2025.
*MacDonald Dzirutwe; editing: Jan Harvey – Reuters
