BREAKING: Nigeria’s non-oil exports hit $3.23 billion in H1 2025—NEPC

Nigeria’s non-oil exports surged to $3.225 billion in the first half of 2025, marking a robust 19.59% increase compared to $2.696 billion in the same period of 2024, the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) announced. This growth was accompanied by an increase in export volumes, which rose to 4.04 million metric tonnes from 3.83 million metric tonnes last year, reflecting rising global demand for Nigerian products, particularly from emerging markets including India, Brazil, Vietnam, and various African countries.

NEPC’s Executive Director and CEO, Nonye Ayeni, revealed these figures during the presentation of the half-year non-oil export performance report in Abuja. The first quarter of 2025 alone saw non-oil exports valued at $1.791 billion, a 24.75% rise from Q1 2024, with shipment volumes also up by 24.3% to 2.416 million metric tonnes.

Nigeria exported 236 distinct non-oil products in H1 2025, up 16.83% from 202 products in H1 2024. These products spanned agricultural commodities, extractive industry products, manufactured goods, and increasingly, semi-processed items—a shift signaling diversification from traditional agricultural exports toward higher-value goods.

Cocoa beans remained the highest-exported product, making up about 34.88% of the total export value, followed by urea/fertilizer at 17.65%, cashew nuts at 12.35%, and sesame seed at 4.23%. Prominent companies such as Indorama Eleme Fertiliser and Chemical Limited and Starlink Global and Ideal Limited continued to lead export volumes, contributing 11.92% and 8.82% respectively, with Dangote Fertiliser Limited ranking third.

The NEPC also highlighted the significance of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in expanding Nigeria’s market access, especially within Africa. Nigeria exported 663 million metric tonnes of goods to 11 ECOWAS countries and an additional 488 million metric tonnes worth $83.5 million to 21 other African countries outside ECOWAS, underscoring regional trade growth.

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In support of exporters, the council facilitated capacity-building programs on quality standards, packaging, labeling, and export procedures, with over 252 training sessions reaching more than 27,000 participants nationwide. Additionally, 29 banks were involved in processing exports, with Zenith Bank leading the transaction volume.

This strong non-oil export performance represents a critical step in Nigeria’s economic diversification efforts and reinforces the country’s expanding footprint in global and regional markets. The NEPC’s data reflects a positive trajectory toward sustainable export-led growth for Nigeria.