The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has disclosed that the non-oil export returns from the various Pre-Shipment Inspection Agents indicate that 3,944,344.17 metric tonnes of products worth $2.539 billion was exported in the first half of 2023.
Speaking on Monday in Abuja, the Executive Director of NEPC, Dr. Ezra Yakusak said a “total number of Two Hundred and Twenty-four (224) different products were exported in the period under review ranging from manufactured, semi-processed, solid minerals to agricultural commodities.”
Giving a breakdown of the non-oil export performance, the ED explained that “of the top-15 products exported in the first half-year of 2023, Urea, Cocoa Beans, Cashew Nut/kernels, Sesame Seed and Soya Beans/meal were top on the list respectively.
“A total of 1,058,791.27 metric tonnes of products worth US$175.476 million which amounts to 6.91% of the total export value were exported to 13 ECOWAS Countries.”
He further stated that “a total number of 859 companies participated in the non-oil export trade in the period under review.
“It is worthy to note that Indorama-Eleme Fertilizer and Chemical Limited took the lead with US$282,553,286.15 million in value terms while Dangote Fertilizer Limited recorded the second-highest value of US$199,871,962.29 respectively.
“30 banks participated in the issuance of the Nigeria Export Proceed Forms (NXPs) for the first half-year of 2023 with Zenith Bank PLC processing the highest NXPs value at 38.11%, while United Bank of Africa (UBA) Plc and First Bank of Nigeria had 10.50% and 9.87% respectively.
“18 exit points were used in the period under review. These include seaports, international airports and land borders. The seaports however accounted for over 90 per cent of the total non-oil export in the period under review,” he noted.
Yakusak said”may I reiterate at this juncture that the volume of inter-African trade is still very low. This is glaring considering the fact that no African country made it to the top 15 importers of Nigerian products.
“In summary, 164, 748.75 metric tonnes of products valued at US$55.085 million were exported to various African countries. This amounts to 2.17% of the total export value recorded between January to June 2023.
“You will agree with me that this is quite insignificant compared to products valued at $252,056,554.18 imported by Vietnam alone, which constitute 9.93% of the total export value recorded within the same period. We strongly believe that the implementation of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and its attendant benefits will greatly increase the volume and value of trade among African countries.”
Within the period under review, one hundred and ten countries, spread among five (5) continents of the world, imported Nigerian products. The top 5 importing countries are; Vietnam, China, Japan, Brazil and India.
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