Published by Osasere Edomwonyi Ikpoba
Nigeria's non-oil export sector achieved a historic milestone in 2025, recording its highest formally documented performance with a total value of $6.1 billion, marking an 11.5 per cent increase from the $5.46 billion recorded in the previous year. The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), which disclosed the figures at a news conference on the 2025 Non-Oil Export Performance and 2026 Outlook in Abuja, described the achievement as the strongest performance since the establishment of the council and a clear indication of the growing resilience and relevance of the non-oil sector to Nigeria's economy.
According to the NEPC Executive Director, Mrs Nonye Ayeni, Nigeria exported a total of 281 non-oil products in 2025, reaching markets across 120 countries worldwide. The products spanned a diverse range of categories, including agricultural commodities, processed and semi-processed goods, industrial inputs, and solid minerals, reflecting a gradual but steady progression toward value addition and broader product representation in global markets. In volume terms, total non-oil exports stood at 8.02 million metric tonnes, reflecting a 10 per cent increase compared to the 7.29 million metric tonnes recorded in 2024.
The Netherlands emerged as the top destination for Nigerian non-oil exports, accounting for 17.53 per cent of the total value, followed by Brazil with 10.35 per cent and India with 7.63 per cent. Exports to the Netherlands increased by 32.46 per cent, driven by products including cocoa beans, cocoa butter, and sesame seeds, while exports to Brazil grew by 19.07 per cent. The performance of these top three markets underscores the growing global demand for Nigerian agricultural and industrial products and highlights the country's expanding footprint in international trade.
Within the African continent, Nigeria exported non-oil products to 36 African countries, including 11 ECOWAS member states. These exports totalled approximately 1.23 million metric tonnes, amounting to $272 million, though this represented a 4.6 per cent decrease from the previous year. The decline was attributed to the exit of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger from the ECOWAS community, which affected intra-African trade figures. Despite this setback, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) remains central to Nigeria's regional trade ambitions, with the NEPC describing it as holding the key to intra-African trade and promising to be the largest free trade area in the world.
The top-performing non-oil export products for the year included cocoa and its derivatives, urea, cashew, sesame seed, gold dore, aluminium ingots, copper ingots, soya beans and meal, and rubber. Among the leading export companies, Indorama Eleme Fertilizer & Chemical Limited secured the foremost position with 13.13 per cent of export value, followed by Dangote Fertilizer Limited with 8.41 per cent and Starlink Global and Ideal Ltd with 8.06 per cent.
The Vice President of the World Trade Centre Abuja, Karim Ahmed, who also addressed the export performance at the Premier Export Launchpad Bootcamp organised by the centre, reiterated that the figures demonstrated that Nigerian products were already finding markets around the world. "These figures demonstrate that Nigerian products are already finding markets around the world. The question, therefore, is not whether Nigeria has products and services that the world wants. Clearly, we do," he stated. However, he cautioned that Nigerian businesses needed to overcome challenges relating to market knowledge, standards, certifications, logistics, documentation, payment systems, and consistency in order to sustain their presence in international markets. "The more important question is whether our businesses have the knowledge, systems, standards and consistency required to enter those markets successfully and remain competitive," Ahmed said.
The NEPC boss attributed the record performance to sustained economic diversification under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's Renewed Hope Agenda, which she said had delivered tangible results in job creation, poverty alleviation, and strengthening Nigeria's position within global trade. She also commended Nigerian exporters for their resilience and determination despite logistics constraints, regulatory pressures, and global market uncertainties. The NEPC has been working in partnership with the National Bureau of Statistics, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and other stakeholders to mainstream informal trade, as a significant volume of exports still goes out informally through various borders.
While the $6.1 billion record represents a significant achievement, it also highlights the vast untapped potential of Nigeria's non-oil sector. The NEPC has emphasised the need for continued capacity building, market access support, certification support, and improved compliance across export value chains from production to shipment. The Export Launchpad Bootcamp, organised by the World Trade Centre Abuja, is one such initiative designed to help Nigerian businesses assess their readiness for international trade, identify viable markets, and understand the practical requirements for exporting. As Ahmed noted, "The ultimate objective of this programme is to help businesses move beyond the aspiration to export and complete actual international transactions".
The record non-oil export performance in 2025 offers a glimpse of what is possible when Nigeria's vast agricultural, industrial, and mineral resources are effectively harnessed for global trade. However, sustaining and building on this momentum will require concerted efforts from government, the private sector, and development partners to address the structural bottlenecks that continue to constrain export competitiveness. As the NEPC and other stakeholders have made clear, the potential is immense—but translating that potential into sustained growth will require more than just record figures. It will require a fundamental transformation of Nigeria's export ecosystem, from production to market access, to ensure that the country can compete successfully in the global economy.
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