The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has said that a nine percent decline representing $2.970 billion and 2.714 billion was recorded in the country’s non-oil export between 2013 and 2014. Meanwhile, with the dwindling oil revenue coupled with the quest to increase the basket of exportable products from Nigeria, the council has concluded plans to launch the One State One Product (OSOP) initiative targeted at developing and promoting one product for export per state.
To this end, the council has identified 13 National Strategic Export Products (NSEPs) that will replace oil as part of diversification of the economy using the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP) and the Nigerian Enterprise Development Programme (NEDEP) as key strategies. The NSEPs are grouped under three categories Agro-industrial (Palm oil, Cocoa, Cashew, Sugar, Rice); Mining related products (Cement, Iron ore, Metals, Auto parts/cars, Aluminium); Oil and Gas industrial products (Petroleum products, Fertilizer/Urea, Petrochemical and Methanol).
Speaking at a two-day capacity building programme for State Committees on Export Promotion and City Chambers of Commerce and Industries in all States of the Federation with the theme: “Techniques of Non Oil Export Project Formulation and Implementation,” Executive Director/CEO, Nigerian Export Promotion Council, Mr. Olusegun Awolowo, said that Nigeria’s exports are still dominated by oil while its non-oil exports are dominated by Agriculture. “Agriculture represented 47 percent of non-oil exports in Q3, 2014. Non-oil export potentials are not fully exploited but limited to local content value addition.
“Using our comparative advantage, One Product will be adopted in each state and developed down its value chain to enhance competitiveness and achieve economic inclusion. Although Nigeria is the world’s largest producer of seven agricultural Export Commodities including Cassava, yams, shea nuts and sorghum, it is not reflected in global trade Nigeria is among dominant global producers of 15 other products – Cocoa, palm produce, potatoes, maize, cashew nuts, gum arabic and kola nuts but does not get requisite market share.
“However, the current oil situation did not meet us unprepared, we had anticipated and prepared in advance through the launch of the key strategies for diversifying the economy, therefore we seek cooperation from the State Export Committees and pledge to facilitate and provide capacity where required and Synergy between NEPC and relevant government agencies,” he said.
In her goodwill message, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Chairperson, Lagos State Export Promotion Committee, Mrs Abimbola Umar, said that the workshop is a recognition of the council’s strategic position viz-a-viz its potentials of greatly enhancing non-oil export activities especially in this era of dwindling revenue from crude oil exports which has been the mainstay of the Nigerian economy.
She advised NEPC to come up with programmes such as: Accelerated programme for Export Development, which would place promotion of non-oil exports in the front burner of national discourse, explaining that the various state committees should be used as the implementation arm of such programme, while NEPC serves as the coordinating centre.
Umar said, “Given the enormous potentials in the non-oil export, we expect the Federal Government to give export promotion the required attention in order to give an effective cushion to the economy of the country which is presently vulnerable.
