As conversations intensify on the need to diversify from oil to non-oil revenues, industry experts have called on the federal government to place particular focus on the country’s non-oil exports.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows that the country’s non-oil exports accounted for 9.65 per cent of total exports in H1 (half year) of 2024 from 15.30 per cent in 2020, showing a decline of 5.65 per cent over the period.
Overtime, exporters have attributed low contributions of non-oil exports to the high cost of production in the country.
Other factors include high cost of borrowing, inflation, depleting infrastructure and and high electricity tariff have also been identified as some of the major issues limiting Nigeria’s non-oil export potential
Subsequently, stakeholders within the sector have called for urgent intervention to ensure that Nigerian exporters get a chunk of the $32 trillion estimated global market.
Another challenge experienced in the sector is the rising cases of export rejects due to irregular labeling and packaging.
Checks by Daily Trust however revealed some of the efforts put in place to address those challenges. Currently, the Council is addressing the issues by collaborating with relevant agencies and parastatals to create awareness, build capacity for Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), labelling and packaging and ensure adherence to the quality and standards of exports in the global market.
With Informal Cross Border Trade (ICBT) reportedly worth over $93 billion globally, the Council, the federal government through the regional and state offices of the Nigeria Export Promotion Council is presently working on mainstreaming informal border trade, which will help increase foreign exchange earnings and help capture export data for the country. Subsequently, interactive sessions were held with trade associations operating within the following borders:
These include, Kamba – a border town with the Niger Republic, Jega town, one of the largest loading points in the north, Tsamiya , a major gateway to Benin Republic, Saki/Okerete – a major link to Benin Republic, Ebutero, ECOWAS loading point on Lagos Island, Oron Beach – responsible for the movement of goods to Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Central African countries.
The objectives of the programme were to sensitise critical stakeholders about the benefits of formalising cross-border trade, identify challenges faced by operators and proffer solutions, leverage opportunities provided by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) platform.
Similarly, to enhance women’s participation in global trade, the Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the Deputy Executive Director of the International Trade Centre (ITC), Dorothy Tembo launched the $1.2 million STDF for Sesame seed and Cowpea (Dry Beans) (N1.9 billion) all targeted at boosting Nigeria’s export trade as well as reducing the incidences of export rejects in the global market just as about 60 women-led businesses participated in the product exhibition during the event.
So far, a total of 2, 331 new exporters and value chain players were registered in the first half year of 2024. This is a significant increase compared to 793 in 2023 for the same period as getting Export Certificates has now been fully digitised and issued within 24 hours. Similarly, to equip exporters with the requisite skills for export business, a total of 90 capacity-building programmes were held with 10,780 participants for the period in review as against 99 capacity-building and 6, 946 participants recorded for the same period in 2023.
What NEPC is saying
Meanwhile, at the just concluded third non-oil export conference in Abuja, the Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Nonye Ayeni, announced plans to certify an additional 400 exporting firms to meet global standards and enhance revenue generation for the economy.
Ayeni also highlighted that 57,625 exportable agricultural commodities have been distributed to 9,230 farmers across the 36 states.
The conference, themed “Promoting Non-Oil Export for Rapid National Economic Growth,” aligns with the present administration’s agenda of economic diversification through industrialization, digitisation, creative arts, manufacturing, and innovation.
“As we all know, the global economy is evolving, and the demand for oil is experiencing fluctuations. Our over-reliance on oil exports and the need to explore vast opportunities in non-oil sectors guided the establishment of the NEPC 48 years ago.
“The current state of the country’s economy, from the perspective of a Trade Promotion Organisation (TPO) like the NEPC, offers a golden opportunity to diversify Nigeria’s productive base through non-oil exports. This is evident from the Renewed Hope Agenda’s efforts towards economic diversification, which directly impacts the non-oil export sector,” she said.
Ayeni attributed the 6.26 per cent increase in Nigeria’s non-oil export earnings, amounting to $2.7bn in the first half of 2024, to policy strides by the president and the NEPC’s “Operation Double Your Export” initiative, alongside efforts from strategic stakeholders.
She added, “The council has freely implemented certifications like HACCP, FDA, ISO 22000, and Halal for about 400 exporting firms, including women-owned businesses.
“Under the ‘Operation Double Your Exports’ campaign, the council has embarked on another round of free certification for 400 companies, targeting exporters of agricultural commodities and MSMEs producing value-added products, especially processed food items.”
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