NEPC rallies support for increased non-oil export

The Nigerian Export Promotion Council has solicited stakeholders’ support in the non-oil export market to drive Nigeria’s non-oil export sector.

The NEPC Director, Trade Information Department, Dr Joe Itah, speaking on the sidelines of a two-day Export Mentorship Programme in Lagos on Wednesday, said the move is apt considering the 0.05 per cent decline in non-oil exports the nation recorded in 2023.

Itah said, “Nigeria’s non-oil export is doing well, for instance, we had returned from the Pre-Shipment Inspection Agency and these are reliable figures.

“In 2022, we had a return of N4.8 billion and N4.5 billion in 2023 representing a 0.05 per cent drop due to election and climate change. We can fare better in terms of Nigeria’s non-oil export, but all hands must be on deck.”

He also said it was a result of the decline that the organisation was organising the EMP to raise a new set of exporters to boost Nigeria’s non-oil sector, particularly from the small and medium-scale enterprises who he said the council hopes to grow into formidable exporters of products and services.

According to him, the move would also help these new exporters prepare for the risk involved in the export market terrain in its bid to simplify their routes to export business.

He said, “So we were able to select this number we are training in what we call the zero to export which is a programme that is designed with seven modules starting from the introduction of exports to beginners, documentation through packaging and labelling, through certification and also financing and use of international commercial terminologies for exports and logistics.”

“So at the end of this training of the 70 participants, we hope to bring out what we call semi-champions. We floated this programme with 20 SMEs with 15 graduating that we sent to the fields to work with established exporters,” he said.

Also speaking, a participant at the event, Tai Oyekan, said the programme would help exporters to re-strategize while also keying into the federal government’s policies.

He said, “In fact, we need this kind of programme often. I want to use this medium to appeal to NEPC to train more capacity builders because we have more exporters than capacity builders. Nigeria is a vast nation and would require trainers all over the country to reach out to exporters in different parts of the country. Nigeria is blessed and there is no local government area where you cannot get something to export out of this great country.”