Tag: Nonye Ayeni

Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Nonye Ayeni disclosed that non-oil products exported in the first half of 2025 were valued at $3.225 billion, showing an increase of 19.59 per cent as against the sum of $2.696 billion recorded for the first half of the year 2024.

Ayeni added that the volume also increased to 4.04 million Metric tonnes compared to the 3,83 million Metric tonnes for the same period of 2024, as the council is working with the supervising ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, and other relevant stakeholders to sustain this strong performance by increasing the volume and value of non-oil exports from Nigeria.

She said this at the first half year progress report on non-oil export performance for the year 2025 in Abuja, stating that non-oil products exported in the first half of 2025 were valued at $3.225 billion, which shows an increase of 19.59 per cent as against the sum of $2.696 billion recorded for the first half of the year 2024.

According to her, “The volume also increased to 4.04 million Metric tonnes compared to the 3,83 million Metric tonnes for the same period of 2024. Only recently, precisely in April 2025, you will recall that Nigeria’s Non-oil products exported in the first quarter of 2025 recorded a significant value of US$1.791 billion.

“This represents a 24.75 percent increase over the US$1.436 billion reported in the First Quarter of 2024. The volume also increased to 2.416 million metric tonnes, representing a 24.3per cent increase from the 1.937 million Metric tonnes recorded in the first quarter of 2024. Products Exported

In the first half of the year 2025, a total of two hundred and thirty-six (236) different products were exported in the period under review.

“It shows an increase of 16.83 per cent when compared to the 202 distinct products exported in the first half of 2024.

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The products exported range from agricultural commodities, extractive industries, and manufactured and semi-processed products. However, it is pertinent to state here that the non-oil export of Nigerian products is gradually diversifying from traditional agriculture exports to semi-processed/manufactured products”.

Ayeni explained the factors that contributed to the increase and demand for Nigerian products even in the African region, they are  key Nigerian commodity products, such as cocoa, sesame, cashew and aluminum.

It is worth knowing that the AfCFTA also provided wider market access and tariff relief for Nigerian exporters as the council led export intervention programmes such as capacity building on quality and standards, packaging and labelling, export documentation and certifications all contributed.

She noted that during the period under review, the Council also facilitated market access and market linkages programmes for Nigerian exporting companies thereby giving the products more visibility in the global market. This growth in value-added exports improved earnings, as more exporters are now imbibing the culture of value addition to their products. The rising demand from emerging economies, such as India, Brazil, and Vietnam and Africa increased Nigeria’s non-oil export volumes and diversity.

The Executive Director, CEO Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) Nonye Ayeni, has said about 32 per cent of the 96 per cent the Small and Medium Enterprise (SMEs) in Nigeria are women-led.

Ayeni disclosed this at the HER-SHOWCASE event, Trade Beyond Borders in partnership with the International Trade Centre (ITC) in Abuja.

She said: “This event is specifically designed to facilitate business networking, market connections, and product exhibitions for Women-led Businesses, we gather today to celebrate the extraordinary contributions of women entrepreneurs in the non-oil export sector and to explore new opportunities for growth and collaboration.

“Women play a vital role in our economy. It is therefore imperative that as a country, our SMEs are empowered to take advantage of the immense opportunities that technology and globalization presents to businesses, particularly SMEs. This of course reflects NEPC’s commitment to empowering women to transcend traditional physical boundaries and achieve global success in the world of trade.”

She added that there are so many platforms that present opportunities for women to trade beyond borders. One of such is digital trade platforms or e-commerce which she said is transformative and essential in driving sustainable economic growth and development.

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She said the NEPC recognizes the pivotal role that “women play in driving economic development and innovation therefore a significant part of our programs, initiatives and partnerships are targeted towards supporting women and women-led businesses”.

Also speaking, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Jumoke Oduwole said the trade landscape is evolving, and Africa stood at the forefront of a significant transformation.

“I am pleased that the dialogue on gender and trade transition has shifted from women getting a seat at the table to acknowledging us as key agents of change in the sector, acting as consumers, producers, distributors, and decision-makers across the value chain,” she said.