Agric Product Export: Agricultural Products That Top Export Chart in Nigeria (Part 2)

Nigeria exported agro-food items worth N165.27 billion in the second quarter of 2021, representing a 112% increase compared to N78.03 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2020. This is also the highest on record, according to data tracked from the National Bureau of Statistics .

The recent value also represents a 30% increase when compared to N127.18 billion worth of export recorded in the previous quarter (Q1 2021).

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s agric imports also increased by 56.9% year-on-year in Q2 2021 to N652.08 billion, indicating a trade deficit of N486.8 billion, quite huge for a country blessed with vast land and an agricultural sector that employs a huge chunk of its labour force.

It is imperative to track the items that fetch the country its foreign earnings as a result of its impact on the Nigerian exchange rate, hence these are the top agricultural products exported to other countries.

Top Agric Export

• Cocoa – N63.18 billion
•  Cashew nuts – N42.94 billion
•   Sesamum seeds – N21.64 billion
•   Coconut – N13.02 billion
•   Ginger – N3.75 billion
•   Frozen sea foods – N3.46 billion
•   Brasil nuts in shell – N3.28 billion
•   Natural cocoa butter – N2.44 billion
•   Sesame oil and its fraction – N1.29 billion
•   Palm nuts and kernels – N1.08 billion

 

The growth in agric export means an increase in foreign earnings, which would help boost the country’s foreign reserve as well as relieve the pressure on the exchange rate. However, the continuous negative trade balance, indicates more pressure as Nigerians will continue to search for scarce forex in order to import items that would have been produced locally.

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.