Nigeria’s non-oil export sector recorded a significant boost in the first quarter of 2025, with total receipts valued at $1.791 billion, according to the Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC).
Presenting the First Quarter Progress Report in Abuja on Monday, NEPC Director-General Dr Nonye Ayeni said the figure represents a 24.75 percent growth over the $1.436 billion posted during the corresponding period in 2024.
Ayeni also highlighted that export volumes surged to 2.416 million metric tonnes in Q1 2025, marking a 243.44 percent increase compared to the 1.937 million metric tonnes recorded in the same period last year.
“In the first quarter of 2025, Nigerian exporters shipped a total of 197 distinct products,” she noted. This figure marks an uptick from the 162 products recorded in the same quarter of 2024.
The range of products spanned manufactured goods, semi-processed items, industrial extracts, and agricultural commodities.
Ayeni recalled that in January, the NEPC announced the highest annual value of non-oil exports in its 49-year history, with export earnings growing by 20.77 percent from $4.517 billion in 2023 to $5.456 billion in 2024.
She disclosed that Indorama Eleme Fertiliser and Chemical Ltd and Starlink Global and Ideal Ltd retained their leading positions among exporters, accounting for 12.07 percent and 10 percent of total non-oil exports, respectively, largely due to strong performances in fertiliser and cocoa product exports.
Regarding export commodities, Ayeni said cocoa and its derivatives—including cocoa butter, cocoa liquor, and cocoa cake—ranked as the most exported products.
Other top exports included urea, cashew nuts, sesame seeds, gold dore, aluminium ingots, copper ingots, soybeans and meal, and rubber, based on data provided by Pre-shipment Inspection Agents (PIAs).
Cocoa beans alone accounted for 45.02 percent of total non-oil exports in Q1 2025, while urea/fertiliser contributed 19.32 percent, and cashew nuts made up 5.81 percent.
The NEPC chief stated that the Council, working with the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and other key stakeholders, remains committed to increasing the volume and value of non-oil exports in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
She further revealed that Nigerian products were exported to ten ECOWAS member countries during Q1 2025, with transactions valued at $63.060 million—representing 3.52 percent of the total non-oil export value and a 223.10 percent rise compared to the $19.517 million reported in Q1 2024.
Beyond West Africa, Nigeria’s non-oil exports to other African countries amounted to $32.732 million, making up 1.83 percent of the total non-oil export value.
Ayeni concluded by stating that the country’s non-oil exports are on an upward trajectory, with various stakeholders increasingly taking advantage of emerging opportunities within the sector.
