Non-oil exports hit $6.1bn in 2025, says NEPC

The Nigerian Export Promotion Council revealed that the non-oil exports rose to nearly $6.1bn in 2025, adding that the performance marked a significant boost since the establishment of the council.

The figure represents an 11.5 per cent year-on-year increase over the $5.4bn recorded in 2024.

The Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the NEPC, Nonye Ayeni, revealed this on Monday in Abuja during the council annual progress report and 2026 non-oil export outlook briefing.

Ayeni said data obtained from pre-shipment inspection agencies showed that Nigeria had surpassed its previous best performance, describing the 2025 outcome as a historic milestone for formal, documented trade.

She said, “The record obtained from pre-shipment inspection agencies, Nigerian non-oil export performance in 2025 reached an all-time high. The non-oil export sector rose to approximately 6.1 billion U.S. dollars, representing a year-on-year growth of about 11.5 per cent over and above the 5.4 billion U.S. dollars recorded in 2024.

“This marks the highest non-oil export value achieved in the country for formal documented trade in the country and also from the inception of the council almost 50 years ago. So we have indeed beaten our own records of last year. So Nigeria has 6.1 billion U.S. dollars in terms of value for non-oil export.”

According to her, the $6.1bn export value reflects improved activity across several value chains, supported by expanding market access and increasing product diversification.

She explained that the export volumes also rose significantly, with total non-oil exports hitting 8.02 million metric tonnes in 2025, compared with 7.29 million metric tonnes in 2024, representing a 10 per cent increase.

Highlighting areas of strong performance, she said agricultural commodities, processed and semi-processed goods, industrial inputs, and solid minerals, were areas of significant progress.

“In 2025 alone, Nigeria exported a total of 281 non-oil products. This reflects our steady transition towards value-added exports and deeper integration into global value chains,” Ayeni stated.

However, the NEPC boss cautioned that the impressive figures did not fully capture the country’s export potential, noting that a significant volume of trade still occurs informally across Nigeria’s land borders.

She said the council was working with the National Bureau of Statistics, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and other stakeholders to mainstream informal trade into official export records, improve data accuracy, and strengthen policy support for exporters.

Ayeni added that ongoing reforms, export incentives, and capacity-building initiatives would be intensified in 2026 to sustain growth and expand Nigeria’s non-oil export footprint.

The latest performance comes amid renewed government efforts to boost foreign exchange earnings, stabilise the naira, and reduce the economy’s vulnerability to oil price shocks by deepening non-oil export revenues.