The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has said that the country’s non-oil export has recorded significant growth between January and June 2022.

NEPC’s Executive Director, Dr. Ezra Yakusak, who disclosed this at a press briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, said the country exported 4,146,534 metric tonnes of products worth $2.593 billion within the time frame.

According to him, the growth represents 62.37% increase as against the sum of $1.59 billion recorded in the first half of 2021 and 2020 which stood at $981.442 million.

He said the figures were latest updates collated from non-oil export performance reports by various pre-shipments Inspection Agents appointed by the Federal Government to determine volume, value and destination of Nigerian non-oil export in line with section 12 of the pre-shipments Inspection Act, cap p25 LFN 2004.

Yakusak said that over 200 different products, ranging from manufactured, semi-processed, solid minerals to raw agricultural products were reported to have been exported in the period under review.

He said that unlike what was applicable in the past, the trend of products exported from Nigeria was gradually shifting from its traditional agricultural exports to semi-processed/manufactured goods.

“This can be gleaned from the following product classification as contained in the PIAs report; manufactured products: 36.28 per cent; raw agriculture product: 33.35 per cent; precious stones: 13.22 per cent and others, 17.15 per cent,” he said.

The NEPC boss said that of the top 15 exported products in the first half year of 2022, urea/fertilizer recorded 32.49 per cent of total export.

In the same vein, cocoa beans, sesame seed and aluminum ingots contributed 12.65, 7 and 5.07 per cents, respectively.

He added that 572 companies participated in exporting the products in the period under review.

“This is an indication that Nigerian businesses are gradually embracing the diversification campaign of the NEPC by venturing into nonoil exports,” he said.

While explaining that there was no incidence of export rejections, Yakusak said that during the period under review, different Nigerian products were exported to 112 countries.

According to him, some of these products were exported to the Americas, Asia, Europe, Oceania regions and Africa.

“Of these figures, Brazil, United States of America (USA) and India were the top three export destinations based on the value of imports.

“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,” he said.

The Star