The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has reported a staggering $4.5 billion in non-oil exports, accompanied by a voluminous 6.685 million metric tonnes for the year 2023.
During a media parley in Abuja, Nonye Ayeni, the Executive Director of the Council, unveiled these impressive statistics in the progress report on non-oil export performance for the year. The report highlighted a diverse range of 273 exported products, spanning from manufactured goods, semi-processed items, and solid minerals to various agricultural commodities.
Ayeni underscored, “the figure reflects a notable increase of approximately 28.04%, compared to the preceding year.”
Providing a detailed breakdown, she revealed, “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.”
In terms of total exported products, Ayeni emphasised, “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.”
Highlighting the top exporting companies, Ayeni revealed that Indorama-Eleme Fertilizer and Chemical Limited led with a value of US$524,327,305.66, closely followed by Dangote Fertilizer Limited with US$383,071,252.58.”
“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,” she said
“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 revealed that 13 ECOWAS member countries, excluding Cape Verde, actively imported Nigerian products throughout 2023. The import volume reached 1,638,694.46 metric tonnes, equivalent to US$343.942 million, constituting 7.61% of the total export value. Notably, only Ghana secured a position in the top 20 global importers from Nigeria, holding the 18th position.
“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 Executive Director urged financial institutions to seize the opportunities in the non-oil export sector, supporting exporters to enhance their production capacity and access international markets.