Nigeria’s Non-Oil Exports Hit $1.79B in Q1 2025 Amid Push for Revenue Diversification
The Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has revealed that the country’s non-oil exports for the first quarter of 2025 were valued at 1.791 billion dollars, highlighting ongoing efforts by the government to diversify its revenue streams.
Speaking in Abuja on Monday while presenting the First Quarter Progress Report on non-oil export performance for 2025, NEPC Director-General, Dr. Nonye Ayeni, disclosed the figures.
Ayeni noted that the latest numbers reflect a 24.75 percent increase compared to the 1.436 billion dollars recorded during the same period in 2024.
Additionally, she stated that the total volume of exports rose significantly to 2.416 million metric tonnes, marking a 243.44 percent increase from the 1.937 million metric tonnes achieved in the first quarter of 2024.
In the first quarter of 2025, a total of 197 distinct products were exported. This figure reflects an increase when compared to the 162 products recorded in the first quarter of 2024.
“These products range from manufactured and semi-processed goods to industrial extracts and agricultural commodities,” she said.
Ayeni recalled that the NEPC had, in January, reported its highest non-oil export value since its establishment 49 years ago.
According to her, the council recorded a 20.77 percent year-on-year growth, rising from 4.517 billion dollars in 2023 to 5.456 billion dollars in 2024.
Providing further insights, she said Indorama Eleme Fertiliser and Chemical Ltd, alongside Starlink Global and Ideal Ltd, retained their positions as the top two exporting companies.
She explained that the two companies contributed 12.07 percent and 10.00 percent, respectively, largely due to their substantial export volumes of fertiliser and cocoa products.
Regarding export commodities, Ayeni highlighted that cocoa and its derivatives — including cocoa butter, cocoa liquor, and cocoa cake — led the chart for the first quarter of 2025.
Other major exports included urea, cashew nuts, sesame seeds, gold dore, aluminium ingots, copper ingots, soya beans/meal, and rubber, based on data provided by pre-shipment inspection agents (PIAs).
Ayeni further explained that cocoa beans remained the dominant commodity, accounting for 45.02 percent of the total non-oil exports.
Urea/fertiliser followed with 19.32 percent, while cashew nuts secured the third spot, contributing 5.81 percent to the total.
“The council is working with the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, and other stakeholders toward increasing the volume and value of non-oil exports. The efforts are aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda,” she said.
The director-general also reported that during the first quarter of 2025, Nigerian products were exported to 10 member countries of ECOWAS, with a total export value of 63.060 million dollars, representing 3.52 percent of the overall non-oil export figure.
“This is also a significant increase of 223.10 per cent when compared to the recorded figure of 19.517 million dollars for the first quarter of the year 2024.
Nigeria also exported to other African countries in the first quarter of 2025.
The value of these exports, totaling 32.732 million dollars, represented 1.83 percent of the total export value,” Ayeni said.
She emphasized that non-oil exports are on the rise and that stakeholders are increasingly leveraging the sector’s inherent opportunities and potential.
