The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced a remarkable 19.23 percent increase in the nation’s non-oil export earnings for October 2024, reflecting ongoing efforts to diversify the economy away from oil dependence.
According to the CBN’s Economic Report for the month, non-oil export receipts climbed to $0.62 billion, up from $0.52 billion in September 2024.
This growth is attributed primarily to robust exports of agricultural commodities, with cocoa beans leading the charge as the top commodity, accounting for 30.04 percent of total exports. Urea followed closely at 26.59 percent, while other notable contributors included sesame seeds (5.64 percent), cocoa products (5.63 percent), aluminum (3.84 percent), and copper (3.43 percent).
Brazil emerged as Nigeria’s top destination for non-oil exports, accounting for 20.22 percent of the total trade. Other significant partners included the Netherlands (15.61 percent), Malaysia (11.76 percent), Japan (6.35 percent), Germany (5.32 percent), and the United States (5.21 percent). These figures underscore Nigeria’s growing integration into diverse global markets.
Export revenues were bolstered by the performance of key Nigerian companies. Receipts from the top five exporters surged to $0.24 billion in October, up from $0.13 billion in the previous month. Leading the pack was Indorama Eleme Fertilizer & Chemical Ltd., which contributed 18.97 percent of total non-oil export earnings through urea exports. Dangote Fertilizer Ltd. followed with an 8.72 percent share, while Outspan Nigeria Ltd., a major cocoa exporter, accounted for 8.45 percent. Starlink Global & Ideal Ltd. and Olatunde International Ltd. contributed 7.35 percent and 5.96 percent, respectively, with exports of dairy products and cocoa beans.
The growth in non-oil exports aligns with trends noted earlier in the year. In August 2024, the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) reported a 6.26 percent increase in non-oil export revenue for the first half of 2024, totalling $2.7 billion, compared to $2.539 billion in the same period of 2023.
However, despite the surge in export performance, Nigeria’s total trade value saw a slight decline in Q2 2024, dropping by 3.76 percent to ₦31.89 trillion compared to the previous quarter. Exports, which accounted for 60.89 percent of total trade, rose marginally by 1.3 percent to ₦19.42 trillion in Q2 2024, marking a 201.76 percent increase compared to ₦6.44 trillion in Q2 2023.
The CBN highlighted that these gains demonstrate the increasing importance of agricultural commodities in Nigeria’s export portfolio. “Earnings from the export of non-oil products increased driven, majorly, by higher receipts from the export of agricultural commodities,” the report stated.
