The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has recorded about 4.5 billion dollars non-oil export and a volume of 6.685 million metric tonnes in year 2023.
The Executive Director of the Council, Nonye Ayeni disclosed this in the progress report on Non-oil Export performance for year 2023 during a media parley in Abuja.
She said a total of 273 different products were exported in the period under review ranging from manufactured, semi-processed, solid minerals to agricultural commodities.
According to Ayeni, the figure reflects a notable increase of approximately 28.04 per cent, compared to the preceding year.
While giving a breakdown, she said : “Based on information received from Pre-shipment Inspection Agents (PIAs), of the top 20 products exported in the year 2023, Urea, Cocoa Beans, Sesame Seed, Soya Beans/meal, Cashew Nuts/Kernels, Aluminum Ingots, and Hibiscus Flower were top of the list respectively.
“It is interesting to state here that Hibiscus flower, among other products, has experienced a notable surge in exportation, thus propelling it into the top 10 ranking of exported products.
“The top commodities in terms of total exported products were Urea/Fertilizer which accounted for 20.10% while Cocoa Beans came second at 13.19% and Sesame Seeds took the third position at 9.03%.
“There were quite a number of other exportable products that contributed significantly to this huge volume of exports recorded in 2023.”
The NEPC boss revealed that out of the top 20 exporting companies in Nigeria, Indorama-Eleme Fertilizer and Chemical Limited took the lead with US$524,327,305.66 in value while Dangote Fertilizer Limited recorded the second-highest value of US$383,071,252.58 respectively.
“A total of 32 banks participated in the establishment of Nigeria Export Proceed Form, NXP forms for export for the year 2023 with a total number of 21,390 NXP forms processed.
“Zenith Bank PLC processed the highest NXP at 39.03%, while United Bank of Africa (UBA) Plc and First Bank of Nigeria recorded 10.55% and 9.88% respectively.
“Other banks also contributed significantly to export volumes in Nigeria.”
Ayeni also disclosed that 13 member countries of ECOWAS , excluding Cape Verde actively engaged in the importation of Nigerian products throughout the year 2023.
She said : ” 1,638,694.46 Metric Tons amounting to US$ 343.942 Million dollars constituted 7.61% of the total export value, noting that only Ghana made it to the top 20 global importers from Nigeria, occupying the 18th position on the export log.
“1,145 exporting companies actively exported Nigeria’s products in the year 2023, this figure can be improved with adequate funding, capacity building and mentorship.”
The NEPC Executive Director called on financial institutions to take advantage of the opportunities in the non-oil export sector by supporting exporters to enhance their capacity to scale up production and access international markets.(vitalnewsngr.com)
