Nigeria’s non-oil exports reached $2.5bn in H1 2022 –NEPC

The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) said on Wednesday Nigeria exported products worth $2.593 billion in the first half of this year.

The Executive Director of NEPC, Ezra Yakusak, who stated this at a press briefing put together to announce the council’s half-year performance in Abuja, said the figure was 62.37 percent higher than the $1.59 billion recorded in the same period of 2021.

He added that the performance was the country’s best half-year performance since 2018.

Yakusak said Nigeria exported 4,146,534 metric tonnes of products during the period.

He also revealed that over 200 products ranging from manufactured, semi-processed, solid minerals and raw agricultural products were exported in the period under review.

“These figures were culled from the non-oil export performance reports of various pre-shipment inspection agents appointed by the Federal Government to determine the volume, value and destination of Nigerian non-oil export in line with section 12 of the Pre-shipment Inspection Act, Cap P25 LFN 2004,” the executive director noted.

Yakusak, who gave a breakdown of the top 15 exported products in the first half year of 2022, said Urea/fertiliser was the country’s biggest export with 32.49 percent of the total export, while cocoa beans, sesame seed, and aluminum ingots contributed 12.65 percent, 7 percent, and 5.07 percent respectively.

The top three destinations for Nigeria’s products were Brazil, the United States and India.

He added: “Regrettably, of the top 10 export destinations of Nigerian products, none is an African country. Only Benin and Niger Republic made it to the top 15.

“Both Benin and Niger Republic are Nigeria’s immediate neighbors and as such, they are traditionally gateways for informal export activities. This bi-annual report, therefore, indicates that the council’s campaign at mainstreaming informal export is gradually yielding results.”