The Central Bank of Nigeria’s April 2024 Monthly Economic Report reveals that Nigeria’s non-oil export sector saw a 2% increase in revenue, rising to $510 million in April 2024, compared to $500 million in March.
This indicates a slight improvement in the sector’s performance.
The report read “Higher commodity prices boosted earnings from non-oil export. Provisional data indicated that non-oil export earnings increased marginally to US$0.51 billion, from US$0.50 billion in March 2024.”
The growth in non-oil export sector was primarily driven by higher commodity prices and strong performances from major exporters like Starlink Global and Dangote Fertilizer Ltd.
Starlink Global led the sector, contributing 30.93% of total revenue, largely through dairy product exports. Dangote Fertilizer followed with a 23.33% contribution, primarily from urea exports. Indorama Eleme Fertilizer accounted for 17.77% of earnings from urea exports, while Outspan Nigeria Ltd added 16.88% through dairy exports.
Metal Recycling Industries Ltd contributed 11.09% with its aluminum and copper ingots.
The CBN report noted “Receipts by the top five non-oil exporters rose to US$0.14 billion, from US$0.11 billion in March 2024. Analysis by share showed that Starlink Global and Dangote Fertilizer Ltd were the leading exporters, accounting for 30.93 and 23.33 per cent of the total, from the export of dairy products and urea, respectively.
“Indorama Eleme Fertilizer accounted for 17.77 per cent from urea export. Outspan Nigeria Ltd contributed 16.88 per cent from the export of dairy products, while Metal Recycling Industries Ltd with the export of aluminum and copper ingots constituted 11.09 per cent.”
Nigeria’s non-oil exports primarily went to Vietnam, the United States, and the Netherlands, which received a significant portion of the country’s exports.
Other notable destinations included Malaysia, India, and Japan.
The key commodities driving these exports were cocoa beans, cashew nuts, urea, cocoa products, and sesame seeds.
The report read “Analysis showed that the key destinations of Nigeria’s non-oil export were Vietnam (13.96%), the US (13.87%) and the Netherlands (11.81%). Other notable destinations were Malaysia (7.25%), India (6.44%), and Japan (6.37%). Analysis revealed that the main commodities exported were cocoa bean (19.95%), cashew nuts (18.25%), urea (13.21%), cocoa products (5.34%), and sesame seeds (4.79%).”
It was previously reported that despite Nigeria’s overall GDP growth in the second quarter of 2024, the non-oil sector had previously shown signs of stagnation.
This indicates that while the broader economy was expanding, the non-oil sector faced challenges that hindered more substantial growth.
