Nonye Ayeni, executive director and chief executive officer of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) says Nigeria recorded total receipts of $2.7bn from non-oil exports in the first half of 2024.

Ayeni made the disclosure in Abuja on Wednesday August 28, 2024 while addressing the media at the council’s presentation of its progress report on the non-oil sector performance for the first half of 2024.

The figure, she noted, represented a 6.26 percent increase compared to the $2.53 billion earned in the same period in 2023.

Nonye Ayeni attributed the growth to “the successful transition of government in May 2023 which brought about stability in the government, increase in demand for Made-in-Nigeria products and initiatives embarked on at the council…to reawaken the consciousness of Nigerians on the need to imbibe an export culture.”

She said the growth in non-oil export receipts underlines the ongoing efforts to grow the non-oil sector and diversify the economy from the mono-cultural dependence on oil in alignment with the Industrial Revitalization Plan of the Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Doris Uzoka-Anite and the Renewed Hope Agenda of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR).

Speaking on some of the initiatives introduced by the council, Ayeni noted that the council has a new mantra “Operation Double Your Exports” with the core objective of “significantly increasing our non-oil exports to improve our foreign exchange earnings and for economic growth and job creation.”

She also cited other initiatives like “Export 35 Redefined” through which the Council has selected the top 20 agricultural products to focus on right from the farm gate through the entire value chain to market access with NEPC CONNECT, the council’s result-driven customer service team facilitating the interaction between exporters and the Council.

Breaking down the product profile and market reach, Ayeni said a total of 211 different products were exported during this period with cocoa beans, urea/fertiliser and sesame seeds as the top 3 products with a contribution of 23.18 percent, 13.78 percent and 11.04 percent of the total non-oil exports for the period. She noted that this is indicative of “a shift from traditional agricultural commodities to more semi-processed and manufactured goods.”

The total volume of exported products stood at 3,834,333.83 metric tonnes thus reaffirming, in her words “the widely held assertion that the non-oil sector holds the key to the revitalization of the country’s economy.”

Nigeria’s non-oil exports were exported to 122 countries spread across Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania regions. The top 3 destinations were Netherlands, Malaysia, and Brazil based on value with Ghana emerging the only African country in the top 15 global importers from Nigeria.

To reach global markets, Nigerian exporters utilized 19 exit points made up of Seaports, International Airports, and Land Borders. 95.08% of the total non-oil exports were routed through seaports with the South-West and South-South accounting for over 95 percent of the total non-oil exports during the period in review.

Highlighting the contribution of Nigerian manufacturing concerns, Ayeni noted in her address that the top 3 companies by contribution are Indorama-Eleme Fertiliser and Chemical Limited which led with $198.8 million in exports; Starlink Global and Ideal Limited with $184.7 million, and Outspan Nigeria Limited with $177.75 million.

She also singled out other notable contributors to include Dangote Fertiliser Limited and Metal Recycling Industries Limited.

Thirty two banks contributed to non-oil export transactions in H1 2024. Zenith Bank Plc dominated in terms of financial support to the non-oil export sector. The bank handled 43.09 per cent of the total Non-Oil Export Proceeds (NXPs). It was followed by First Bank Nigeria Plc and Fidelity Bank which handled 6.56 per cent and 6.38 percent of Non-Oil Export Proceeds (NXPs) respectively.

Concluding her address, Nonye Ayeni called on Nigerian banks to enhance exporters’ capacity and access to international markets by leveraging the opportunities in the non-oil export sector, particularly in light of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).