Nigeria’s Non-Oil Exports Hit Record $6.1bn in 2025

Nigeria’s non-oil exports surged to a historic high of $6.1 billion in 2025, marking the strongest performance in the sector since the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) was established nearly five decades ago.

The figure represents an 11.5 per cent increase from the $5.4 billion recorded in 2024, highlighting growing momentum in the country’s efforts to diversify its economy away from crude oil dependence.

The Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of NEPC, Nonye Ayeni, disclosed the milestone on Monday in Abuja during her annual progress report and 2026 non-oil export outlook briefing. She noted that data from pre-shipment inspection agencies confirmed Nigeria’s record-breaking performance.

“Ladies and gentlemen, based on the records obtained from pre-shipment inspection agencies, Nigerian non-oil export performance in 2025 reached an all-time high. The non-oil export sector rose to approximately 6.1 billion U.S. dollars, representing a year-on-year growth of about 11.5 per cent over and above the 5.4 billion U.S. dollars recorded in 2024.

“This marks the highest non-oil export value achieved in the country for formal documented trade in the country and also from the inception of the council almost 50 years ago. So we have indeed beaten our own records of last year. So Nigeria has 6.1 billion U.S. dollars in terms of value for non-oil export.”

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According to Ayeni, the $6.1 billion export value reflects improved activity across multiple value chains, supported by expanding market access and increasing product diversification.

Beyond monetary value, she highlighted that export volumes also rose, with total non-oil exports reaching 8.02 million metric tonnes in 2025, up from 7.29 million metric tonnes in 2024—a 10 per cent increase.

“In 2025 alone, Nigeria exported a total of 281 non-oil products. This reflects our steady transition towards value-added exports and deeper integration into global value chains,” Ayeni stated.

The NEPC boss explained that the strong performance cut across agricultural commodities, processed and semi-processed goods, industrial inputs, and solid minerals, signalling gradual progress in value addition and broader product representation.

However, Ayeni cautioned that the impressive figures do not fully capture Nigeria’s export potential, as a significant volume of trade still occurs informally across land borders.

She said the council is collaborating with the National Bureau of Statistics, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and other stakeholders to mainstream informal trade into official records, improve data accuracy, and strengthen policy support for exporters.

Ayeni added that ongoing reforms, export incentives, and capacity-building initiatives would be intensified in 2026 to sustain growth and expand Nigeria’s non-oil export footprint.

The record performance comes as the government renews efforts to boost foreign exchange earnings, stabilise the naira, and reduce the economy’s vulnerability to oil price shocks by deepening revenues from non-oil exports.