The Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC) says Nigeria exported products worth 663 million metric tonnes to 11 ECOWAS countries in the first half of 2025.The Director-General of the NEPC, Mrs Nonye Ayeni, made this known to newsmen while presenting a report on the first half of 2025 Non-Oil Export Performance in Abuja on Sunday.
Ayeni said the figure showed an increase in exported products compared to the same period in 2024.
“In the same vein, Nigeria exported 488 million metric tonnes of products worth 83.538 million dollars to 21 African countries outside ECOWAS. This reflects an increase of 2.59 per cent of the total export value compared to 1.96 per cent for the same period of 2024. It also lends credence to the fact that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) holds the key to intra-African trade.
“Indeed, Nigeria’s active participation in the AfCFTA is a testament to the significant opportunity it offers to exporting companies, including Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs),” she said.
Ayeni said the effort would help to boost regional trade and drive economic growth across the African continent.
She commended the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment for its commitment to ensuring that Nigeria becomes a hub and a major player in economic development.
She said of the top 20 leading export companies, Indorama Eleme Fertiliser and Chemical Ltd and Starlink Global and Ideal Ltd maintained their positions as first and second, with 11.92 per cent and 8.82 per cent, respectively.
She said that in the period under review, a total of 29 banks participated in processing export transactions.
“A total of 10,214 Nigeria Export Proceed Forms (NXPs) were opened through these banks for non-oil exports, with Zenith Bank Plc leading the pack with 31.98 per cent of the total NXPs for non-oil export.
“First Bank Nigeria Plc and Guaranty Trust Bank Plc came second and third with 12.44 per cent and 11.47 per cent, respectively,” she said.
The director-general said a total of 18 exit points were used in exporting non-oil products from Nigeria during the period under review.
She said the exit points included eight seaports, three international airports and seven land borders, adding that 94.15 per cent of the total non-oil exports were routed through seaports.
The NEPC boss said that in the period under review, the council organised over 252 capacity-building programmes, with a total of 27,352 participants across the country.
She said the training focused on documentation, procedures and export readiness.
“We also carried out training in the areas of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), Good Warehousing Practice (GWP), Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), packaging and labelling, among others.”
