The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has trained over 100 exporters across various commodity value chains on the proper ways to package and market their products in West Africa and the Africa Continental Free Trade Zone Area (AfCFTA).
The council, in a workshop with the theme ‘Facilitating Strategic Export Market Access,’ which was held in Kano, urged the exporters to always make their products of international standards to be attractive and gain acceptance in every part of the world.
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According to the Deputy Director of NEPC on Policy and Strategy, Aliyu S. Sadiq, the council has designed a template for exporters which suits the European Union (EU) standards so that locally made products from Nigeria will attract good sales in the global marketing system.
He urged the exporters, while delivering his lecture on the topic, ‘Market Penetration Strategies for Exportable Products’, to adapt to the quality control mechanism of their products and avoid any form of cheating to gain trust and acceptance in the international market.
“Once your product reaches the international market and it was found not as qualitative as it is supposed to be, you will no longer be trusted and along the line, you have created a problem for others too.
“So we should always package with good packaging materials so that it will attract buyers, but never put what is not there inside.”
He also urged the marketers to ensure effective use of the criteria adopted to penetrate the AfCFTA market and ensure that Nigeria is not pushed away by other countries.
Earlier, the Executive Director and CEO of NEPC, Dr Ezra Yakusak, said Kano being the home to one of the largest agricultural commodities in West Africa, is of great advantage to the exportation of products, as such the need for the workshop to make them ready for the market penetration.
Represented by the Coordinator (North West) of NEPC, Yakubu Gambo, Yakusak urged the exporters to utilize the opportunities given by the federal government to access the grants and loans approved for them to boost their business capacity.
