Nigeria’s non-oil exports have surged to $6.1 billion in 2025, representing an 11.5 per cent increase from the $5.4 billion recorded in 2024, the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has revealed

The Council stated that Cocoa beans, Urea, Cashew nuts topped the list of exported products which is seen as a major boost to the country’s economic diversification drive away from crude oil dependence.

Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the NEPC, Nonye Ayeni, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja during her 2025 annual progress report and 2026 non-oil export outlook briefing.

Ayeni said data obtained from pre-shipment inspection agencies showed that Nigeria had surpassed its previous best performance, describing the 2025 outcome as a historic milestone for formal, documented trade.

“Based on the records obtained from pre-shipment inspection agencies, Nigerian non-oil export performance in 2025 reached an all-time high. The non-oil export sector rose to approximately 6.1 billion U.S. dollars, representing a year-on-year growth of about 11.5 per cent over and above the 5.4 billion U.S. dollars recorded in 2024,” she said.

She described the 2025 performance as a historic milestone for the sector, noting that it represents the highest value of formally documented non-oil exports recorded since the establishment of the council nearly five decades ago, surpassing all previous records and underscoring Nigeria’s growing momentum in expanding its non-oil export base.

“This marks the highest non-oil export value achieved in the country for formal documented trade in the country and also from the inception of the council almost 50 years ago. So, we have indeed beaten our own records of last year. So, Nigeria has 6.1 billion U.S. dollars in terms of value for non-oil export,” she said.

According to her, the $6.1bn export value reflects improved activity across several value chains, supported by expanding market access and increasing product diversification.

Beyond value, Ayeni noted that export volumes also rose significantly, with total non-oil exports hitting 8.02 million metric tonnes in 2025, compared with 7.29 million metric tonnes in 2024, representing a 10 per cent increase.

She explained that the strong performance cut across agricultural commodities, processed and semi-processed goods, industrial inputs, and solid minerals, indicating gradual progress in value addition and broader product representation.

“In 2025 alone, Nigeria exported a total of 281 non-oil products. This reflects our steady transition towards value-added exports and deeper integration into global value chains,” Ayeni stated.

However, the NEPC boss cautioned that the impressive figures did not fully capture the country’s export potential, noting that a significant volume of trade still occurs informally across Nigeria’s land borders.

She said the council was working with the National Bureau of Statistics, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and other stakeholders to mainstream informal trade into official export records, improve data accuracy, and strengthen policy support for exporters.

Top among the exported products include Cocoa Beans, Urea, Cashew Nuts, Sesame Seeds and Gold Dore, and Cocoa Butter.

Others include Aluminium Ingots, Cigarettes, Copper Ingot, Rubber, Cocoa Liquor, Cashew Kernels, Soya Bean Meal, Cocoa Cake and Lithium Powder.

Also in the list are Frozen Seafoods, Hibiscus Flower, Lead Ingots and Clinker as well as

Similarly, in volume terms, NEPC stated that total non-oil exports stood at 8.02million metric tonnes, reflecting a 10% increase compared to the 7.29million metric tonnes recorded in the previous year. This growth in both value and volume demonstrates improved export activity across multiple value chains and market destinations.

In 2025, Nigeria exported a total of 281 non-oil products. These products cut across agricultural commodities, processed and semi-processed goods, industrial inputs, and solid minerals, reflecting gradual progress toward value addition and broader product representation in global markets.

Nigeria’s non-oil exports reached markets across 120 countries, with the Netherlands contributing 17.53%, Brazil 10.35%, and India 7.63% of non-oil exports. Therefore, these 3 countries emerged as the top 3 destinations by value as export to the Netherlands increased by 32.46% with products including cocoa beans, cocoa butter, sesame seeds and others. Export to Brazil increased by 19.07%.

Among the top 20 importing countries of the Nigerian products are Netherlands, Brazil, India, Belgium, United States of America, Vietnam, Germany, China, Switzerland and Japan

Within the African market, Nigeria exported non-oil products to 11 ECOWAS member countries. These exports, totalling 1,234,177.01 metric tons and amounting to US$271.255 million, constituted 4.46% of the total export value. This is a decrease of 13.08% compared to the sum of US$312.080Million for the year 2024. This difference is due to the exit of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger from the ECOWAS committee.

In the period under review, two (2) ECOWAS countries secured a position among the top 20 global destination markets for Nigeria’s non-oil export, with Ghana coming in at13th position and Cote D’Ivoire coming in at 20th position.

Nigeria also exported to Twenty-Five (25) other African countries outside ECOWAS bringing the total export destinations in Africa to thirty-six (36). The value of these exports, totalling 967,397.94 Metric Tons and US$206.941 million, represented 3.40% of the total non-oil export value,” the NEPC report stated.

Zenith Bank leads financial institutions facilitating exports

Further analysis of the report by Daily Trust shows that in the year under review, 30 banks actively participated in non-oil export transactions and a total of 19,975 Nigeria Export Proceeds (NXP) forms processed.

Subsequently, Zenith Bank Plc maintained its leading position, contributing 32.31% to the total number of NXPs for non-oil export. Guaranty Trust Bank Plc coming up strong secured the second position with 12.37%, while First Bank Nigeria Plc held the third position, contributing 11.52% to the overall NXP transactions

From the reports from the PIAs, twenty (20) exit points were used in the period under review to export non-oil products from Nigeria.

Approximately 94% of the total non-oil exports were routed through seaports. In total, eight (8) Seaports, three (3) International Airports and nine (9) Land Borders served as exit points for Nigeria’s non-oil exports.

The NEPC boss further stated that a major highlight of the year was Nigeria’s outstanding participation at the 4th Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF 2025) held in Algiers, Algeria, where the Nigerian Pavilion was awarded Best Pavilion for Transacting Business.

“Through a coordinated effort between NEPC, NEXIM, the Bank of Industry, and SMEDAN, supported the participation of 75 Nigerian SMEs, facilitating strong business engagements and negotiations with prospective export orders estimated at US$110 million across agro-processed products, cosmetics, shea butter, solid minerals, arts and crafts, textiles, and apparel.

“Building on this success, and under the supervision of the Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Nigeria secured the hosting rights for the 2027 edition of the Intra-African Trade Fair, further affirming the country’s leadership role in the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement and its position as a hub for intra-African trade.

Beyond IATF, the Council spearheaded Nigeria’s participation in several strategic international trade fairs, missions, and B2B engagements aimed at expanding market access and securing new export opportunities,” she further explained

Looking ahead in 2026, Ayeni stated that the Council will focus on reducing export rejection, building capacity and market diversification.

“The Nigeria-United Arab Emirates (UAE) Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) is also critical to our projects as it expands market access opportunities for Nigerian products, businesses, and professionals. The UAE eliminates tariffs on 7, 315 products for imports from Nigeria. We will work with our parent ministry to implement this plan.

“Similarly, we intend to work with other stakeholders in other areas to create capacity building and training of exporters, equipping them with the tools and skills required for them to play in the global market. We will continue to work with relevant stakeholders to carry out sensitization for good agricultural practices to reduce rejects and contract cancellations.

“The NEPC is also targeting at encouraging downstream processing in agriculture, solid minerals, and manufacturing through fiscal incentives, export expansion grants, and infrastructure support and also establishing a clearer frameworks for mineral beneficiation, quality control, and traceability to ensure sustainable growth in mineral-based exports while consolidating gains in high-performing markets, proactive efforts will be made to explore emerging markets to mitigate risks associated with market concentration,” she said. (Daily Trust)