Nigeria’s non-oil exports have reached $3.225 billion in the first half of 2025, marking a significant milestone in the sector’s growth. According to the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), this figure represents a 19.59% increase compared to the $2.696 billion recorded in the same period of 2024.
Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer of NEPC, Nonye Ayeni, disclosed this while presenting the council’s First Half-Year Progress Report on non-oil export performance in Abuja.
Ayeni stated that the volume of goods shipped abroad also increased to 4.04 million metric tonnes from 3.83 million metric tonnes in the first half of 2024. This growth was driven by strong global demand for Nigerian commodities from emerging markets like India, Brazil, Vietnam, and other African countries.
In the first quarter of 2025 alone, Nigeria exported non-oil products worth $1.791 billion, a 24.75% rise over the $1.436 billion posted in Q1 2024. Export volumes in Q1 2025 hit 2.416 million metric tonnes, up 24.3% from the 1.937 million metric tonnes shipped in Q1 2024.
Ayeni attributed the improved performance to several factors, including higher global demand for Nigerian cocoa, sesame, cashew, and aluminium; wider market access and tariff relief under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA); and NEPC-led interventions such as capacity building on quality, standards, packaging, labelling, export documentation, and certification.
