NEPC: Non-oil Exports Produced $2.6 Billion in the First Half of 2022.

Ibekimi Oriamaja Reports

Dr. Ezra Yakusak, executive director/chief executive of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), reported yesterday that the total value of non-oil exports in the first half of the year (January – June 2022) was about $2.60 billion, up 62.37 percent from the respective $1.60 billion and $981.44 million recorded in the first halves of 2021 and 2020.

Yakusak said at the First Half Year Progress Report 2022 presentation in Abuja.

He said that despite the worldwide economic slowdown that most firms experienced in 2021, the nation’s non-oil export sector experienced tremendous growth, exporting 4.15 million metric tons of goods during the time.

Yakusak added that the pre-shipment inspection data demonstrated that non-oil export performance for the first half of the year was the best since 2018.

The NEPC chief executive announced that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) had approved N375 billion to pay the backlog of claims for 285 beneficiaries under the Export Expansion Grant (EEG) Scheme. This was done during the presentation of the first half-year progress report.

He reaffirmed the council’s dedication to advancing President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration’s diversification policy.

Yakusak declared, “I am optimistic that our aim to open up the world as a market for Nigerian non-oil export is more than just empty rhetoric. This commitment results from the aim to diversify the Nigerian economy and expand the range of exportable goods produced in Nigeria in order to create a prosperous future for our people.

He stressed that the nation’s ability to increase non-oil exports will be crucial to its existence and urged Nigerians to support the council’s “Export4Survival” campaign in order to create a robust economy based on the industry.

The Export4Survival campaign, which the council introduced in February, is a tactical effort to raise public knowledge of opportunities in the industry and to emphasize the advantages of exporting Nigerian goods and services to the overall growth of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Yakusak argued that the difficulties the local currency, the Naira, is currently suffering could be easily overcome by boosting non-oil exports in order to generate foreign money and increase the external reserves.

He claimed that encouraging value addition to raw material exports was one of his administration’s top priorities for generating foreign exchange.

The head of NEPC noted that various Nigerian goods were exported to 112 nations during the period under review. Of the top 15 exports, urea/fertilizer accounted for 32.49 percent of all exports, followed by cocoa beans, sesame seeds, and aluminum ingots at 12.65 percent, 7. percent, and 5.07 percent, respectively.

During the half-year, 572 companies participated in exporting goods from Nigeria, he added.

Yakusak claimed that during the first half of 2022, the council registered 2,000 firms using its completely automated online registration platform, facilitating the convenience of conducting business and smooth documentation processes.

“I am also delighted to inform you that application processing time is now 24 hours, while 17.3% of applicants were reported to be women-owned enterprises,” he added (WOB).

“The North-central came in second with 417 registered exporters, while the South-west recorded the largest number of exporters’ registration at 851.

In order to stop the rejection of Nigerian products on the global market, he continued, NEPC was actively collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment and other pertinent government agencies.

Yakusak claimed that NEPC had finalized plans to travel to the United Kingdom for an interagency fact-finding mission in order to identify the precise reasons why imported goods from Nigeria were being turned away.

He stated, “This trip aims to give Nigerian export regulatory/facilitating agencies the opportunity to see the procedures for importing agricultural commodities and to also communicate with port health and food import regulatory agencies at the border control stations in the UK.