By Ladi Gbegi
Nigeria’s non-oil export rose by 20.79% in the value to $5.456bn in 2024, the Nigerian Export Promotion Council ,NEPC, said.
The figures rose above $4.5bn non-oil exports recorded in 2023.
The development was disclosed by the Executive Director of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, Nonye Ayeni.
Ayeni attributed the growth to the resilience and diversification of Nigeria’s export sector beyond crude oil.
She further disclosed that the growth was fueled byfurtherrise in activity in the agriculture, manufacturing, and solid minerals sectors.
The NEPC boss said, “Despite economic challenges and the global downturn, the Council, through collaborations with relevant agencies and institutions, has contributed to economic diversification, achieving an impressive non-oil export performance of $5.456bn in 2024. This represents a significant 20.79% increase compared to the $4.517bn recorded in 2023.
“This achievement can be attributed to the active diversification of the economy through the non-oil sector, with a focus on promoting agriculture, solid minerals, and manufacturing.
“It also reflects the positive impact of the federal government’s efforts to enhance trade through effective fiscal and financial policy implementation”.
The top commodity in terms of total non-oil export, accounting for 30.55% in percentage value was Cocoa Beans, followed by Urea/Fertilizer at 15.74% while Sesame Seeds contributed 8.50% of the total exported products respectively.
Of the top 20 exporting companies in Nigeria, Ayeni said Indorama Eleme Fertilizer and Chemical Limited and Starlink Global & Ideal Limited secured the foremost position with $475,309,887.26, representing 8.71% and $456,740,920.00, representing 8.37% respectively.
This is attributed to their notable export volumes of Fertilizer and Cocoa products.
“A total of 32 banks participated in the processing of NXP Forms for export in the year in review. With a total number of 21,655 NXP forms processed.
“Zenith Bank Plc maintained its leading position, contributing 39.03% to the total number of NXPs for non-oil export.
“Following closely is First Bank of Nigeria Plc at second position with 8.44%, while Fidelity Bank Plc held the third position, contributing 6.41% to the overall NXP transactions respectively. Other banks also contributed significantly to export volumes in Nigeria”, she added.
