Nigeria’s quest for economic diversification has received a boost as its non-oil exports to 15 member-states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) by the end of 2013 moved to $375.338 million, from $312.477 million and $276.53 million recorded in 2012 and 2011, respectively.
This is a 20 percent increase from the 2012 figure and 36 percent growth from 2011, information from the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has shown.
“Nigeria is currently exporting tobacco products, plastics and rubber footwear, noodles and biscuits, polybags, milk products, iron and steel, insecticides, beverages, tomato paste and fruit juices to the top 10 African countries,” said the NEPC, headed by Olusegun Awolowo, in a statement released to BusinessDay.
The top 10 African countries, according to the statement, include Ghana, Niger, Cote d’Ivoire, Togo, Benin and Burkina Faso. Others are Guinea, Mali, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Over the years, Nigeria’s main exports have been petroleum and its by-products. World Bank estimates showed Nigeria’s exports in 2012 were worth $97.46 billion, out of which 95 percent were petroleum and ancillary products. Cocoa, rubber, machinery, processed food, and entertainment made up the remaining 5 percent.
This is a contrast from World Bank estimates for South Africa, now the second-largest economy in the continent, which reported $101.2 billion exports within the same year, where gold, diamonds, platinum, other metals and minerals, machinery and equipment were the actual exports.
Volatility in oil prices and discovery of Shale gas by Nigeria’s trading partners have continually dealt a big blow on the economy. Rising oil theft has also crippled the country’s revenue and put state governments at the mercy of lenders.
The Federal Government recently estimated that the country lost $12 billion in 2013 to crude oil theft.
“When there’s a breakage, the impact is that the pipes are shut down, the effect is that 400,000 barrels are shut down. The actual theft is like 70,000 to 80,000 barrels a day,” said Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, minister of finance, in a recent interview with Bloomberg.
In spite of this, the total value of the country’s non-oil exports in 2013 rose to $2.97 billion, from $2.56 billion reported in 2012.
Quarterly non-oil exports data from NEPC, compiled from Colbalt Returns, showed the country recorded a total of $815.6 million in the first quarter of 2013, representing 27 percent share of the total accruals for the year. In the second quarter of the same year, non-oil exports were worth $700.96 million, representing 24 percent of the total, while the third quarter returns were worth $606.26 million, making up 20 percent of the total. In the final quarter, non-oil exports were $846.92 million, making up 29 percent of the total.
“Cocoa and cocoa products have continued to dominate the top 10 products exported from Nigeria to different parts of the world. In 2013, a total value of $758.64 million worth of cocoa and cocoa preparation was exported, translating to 36 percent of world export,” NEPC said.
Analysts have called for non-oil exports expansion to diversify the economy and create more jobs, given that the country’s rebased Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has reached $510 billion, an exercise that has made it the largest in Africa and 26th in the world.
“There is still the issue of higher inequality. There is therefore a great deal of work to be done to make the economy stronger,” said Remi Bello, president, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).
ODINAKA ANUDU
