Nigeria exported agricultural
products worth N321.5 billion in 2020, representing a 19.16% increase when
compared to N269.8 billion recorded in 2019 and a 6.27% increase compared to
N302.28 billion recorded in 2018.
However, despite the increase
recorded in export, imported agricultural goods surged by 78.58% in 2020
compared to 2019. Nigeria imported agricultural goods worth N1.71 trillion in
2020 as against N959.5 billion in 2019.
This is according to Research from
the foreign trade quarterly reports, released by the National Bureau of
Statistics (NBS).
In spite of crude oil, agriculture
still remains the base of Nigeria’s economy, providing the main source of
livelihood for most Nigerians. The sector remains the largest sector of the
Nigerian economy and employs about two-thirds of the entire labour force in the
country.
However, production hurdles have
significantly impeded the expected growth. According to the Food and
Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, over the past 20 years,
value-added per capita in agriculture has risen by less than 1% annually.
It is also estimated that Nigeria
has lost about $10 billion in annual export opportunities from groundnut, palm
oil, cocoa, and cotton alone as a result of the decline in the production of
these commodities.
From the aforementioned, perhaps it
is important to consider the major agricultural products that fetched Nigeria
significant cash in 2020, in order to make adequate preparations towards maximizing
the country’s export potentials.
1.
Sesame seeds
– N98.27 billion
Sesame seed comes from a flowering
plant mostly grown in Northern Nigeria due to the drought-resistant nature of
the seed. It has many uses, but perhaps, its most important use is as a source
of sesame oil which is the most demanded vegetable oil in the world because of
its zero cholesterol content.
Nigeria has been one of the highest
sesame seed-producing countries over the years, making the seed an important
component of the country’s agricultural export.
In 2020, Nigeria exported sesame
seed abroad to the tune of N98.27 billion. The highest quarterly export was
recorded in Q1 2020 (N39.63 billion), before the heat of the pandemic, while
the lowest was recorded in Q3 2020 (N15.59 billion).
2.
Cocoa – N87.44
billion
Cocoa is a small perennial tree crop
that primarily comes from the three tropical regions in the world; Southeast
Asia, Latin America, and West Africa. Cote d’Ivoire is the single largest
producer of cocoa beans, accounting for approximately 31% of the world’s
supply.
The fruit is an egg-shaped
red-to-brown pod that contains about 30 to 40 seeds, each of which is surrounded
by a bitter-sweet white pulp. When the seeds are dried and fermented in the
sun, they turn brownish red and are known as cocoa beans, which is the
principal ingredient of chocolate.
In the year under review, Nigeria
exported different variants of cocoa products to a sum of N87.44 billion. Good
fermented Nigerian cocoa exported in 2020 was estimated at N45.36 billion,
followed by superior quality raw cocoa beans at N36.53 billion, and natural
cocoa butter at N3.52 billion.
Other variants of the cocoa product exported by Nigeria in 2020 include; other quality raw cocoa beans at N1.56 billion, other butter of cocoa and deodorized cocoa (N279 million) and roasted cocoa beans worth N190 million.
3.
Cashew nuts
– N45.88 billion
Cashew is a tree crop that has been
cultivated for food and medicine for many years. The various parts of the
cashew fruits are of economic value, which includes apple, nut, and kernel. The
primary product of cashew nuts is the kernel, which is the edible portion of
the nut.
In confectionery and bakery
products, for example, kernels are used in the production of ice creams,
chocolates, cakes, and sweets. Cashew nut shell liquid has also been used in
making medicine used for treating various illnesses.
In 2020, Nigeria exported cashew
nuts valued at N45.88 billion, with the highest quantity recorded in Q2 2020.
The breakdown of cashew nut export shows that cashew nuts, in shell that was
exported in the review year was N38.36 billion, while that which is shelled was
valued at N7.52 billion.
4.
Frozen foods
– N7.78 billion
Nigeria exported various frozen food
items in the year 2020, valued at N7.78 billion. Among the frozen food items
exported in the period as stated by the National Bureau of Statistics were,
other frozen shrimps and prawns, valued at N5.43 billion.
Frozen rock lobster and other sea
crawfish (Palinurus spp, Panulirus spp, Jasus spp) stood at N1.98 billion while
Hake (Merluccius spp, Urophycis spp), and frozen meat exported was valued at
N374 million.
5.
Shea – N6.47
billion
Shea fruits and nuts are “non-timber
forest products” that are gathered annually during the shea tree fruiting
season that extends from May to September. Shea fruits have an encompassed
kernel and nut.
Oil and associated by-products are
obtained from crushing the nuts, and these oils are used in creating shea
butter, which is further used in making cooking oil, skin and hair moisturizer,
soap, waterproof sealant for home walls, lamp fuel, and many more.
It is worth noting that Nigeria exported Shea nuts valued at N6.14 billion in 2020, while shea cake export stood at N337 million in the year under review.
Bubbling under:
§ Ginger – N6.15 billion
§ Sesame oil –
N4.83 billion
§ Soya – N3.53 billion
§ Coconuts – N3.36 billion
§ Flower – N1.58 billion
Summary
Nigeria is a country immensely
blessed with rich soil texture idle for the practice of crop production;
however, we are unable to produce as much for our domestic consumption not to
mention receiving adequate export value for our agro products.
It is no news that there is an
international demand for most of Nigeria’s agro products; however, Nigeria
spends more importing agricultural products from other countries.
Some of the major bottlenecks
impeding the expected growth in the agricultural sector, despite huge monetary
interventions in the sector in recent years, include logistic problems,
infrastructure, amongst others.
According to a PWC report on the
current state of Nigeria’s agriculture and agribusiness sector, Nigeria has
significantly poor transport infrastructure and services (road and rail),
particularly in the rural areas.
It also identifies the lack of cold
chain logistics as a factor contributing to the decrease in trade capacity
through losses from spoilage and impinged time to market.
The limited capacity of Nigeria’s
seaport has also affected the ease of cross-border trade.
Finally, there is a need for Nigeria to improve its agricultural production so as to tap into the large foreign exchange that could come into the country through the export of these items.
The
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