TheCable

The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) says the country attracted the sum of $4.5 billion from non-oil exports in 2023.

Nonye Ayeni, executive director and chief executive officer (CEO) of NEPC, spoke during a presentation on the non-oil export performance for 2023 in Abuja on Thursday.

Ayeni said since she assumed office in October 2023, the performance of the non-oil export sector had further indicated massive potential for growth and economic diversification.

However, she said the non-oil export revenues declined by 6.25 percent compared to $4.8 billion recorded in 2022.

The NEPC boss said the drop was caused by instances of export rejection, the 2023 general election, and economic recession, among others.

She added that although there was a decline in value exported, a substantial volume increase was recorded in 2023.

Speaking further, Ayeni said the volume of non-oil exports continued to increase over the years with 6.68 million metric tonnes of exportable products last year, thereby reaffirming the widely held assertion that the sector holds the key to economic revitalisation.

According to Ayeni, 273 different products were reported to have been exported in the period under review, ranging from manufactured, semi-processed, solid minerals to agricultural commodities.

She said an increase in the volume and value of exportable goods and services and the repatriation of export proceeds “will enhance foreign exchange inflow into the country as well as assist to stabilise the value of the naira”.

BANKS AS A TOOL TO BOOST NON-OIL EXPORT

Ayeni further called for the support of banks and other financial institutions to support and drive Nigeria’s non-oil sector.

She said the banking sector plays a crucial role in the economy’s growth.

“There is no economy that can do away with the banking sector, and if you want any sector to grow, there has to be support from the financial sector,” Ayeni said.

“But most of the time, if those financial institutions cannot see that they (exporters) have been de-risked, they may be unable to help even when the money is available.

“So we are planning to help our exporters de-risk their businesses. Once we de-risk it across the value chain, we should get those banks and the development finance institutions (DFIs) to support them.

“The funds are within the country, but the businesses have to be de-risked.”

Ayeni insisted that support is critical in increasing the basket of exportable products, stimulating value-addition and increasing our foreign exchange earnings.

She also stressed the importance of adding value to exportable products as they attract premium pricing in the global market.

“There is no doubt that exporting companies can scale up their production and harness the opportunities in that space to increase the volume of exports if they have access to affordable finance,” the NEPC boss said.

Ayeni added that the council has a new mantra to drive its core objective and mandate, which is termed ‘Operation Double Your Export’.

“Under this mantra, we have developed some initiatives and programmes to complement the existing ones,” she said.

“They are all geared towards significantly increasing our non-oil exports, improving our foreign exchange earnings, and fostering economic growth and diversification.”

Ayeni also said exporters would be supported with training that would help enhance their capacity to scale up production and access international markets.