Nigeria Earned N98.97trn From Crude Oil, Agric, Other Exports In Seven Years

Within a seven-year period covering January 2015 and December 2021, Nigeria earned a whopping sum of N98.97trn from the exports of crude oil, tobacco, agriculture produce such as cashew, cocoa, sesamum seed among others.

The figure was arrived based on analysis of the Foreign Trade Goods Statistics Report which was obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday in Abuja.

According to the Report Nigeria exported most of its products to countries such as India which accounted for over 15 per cent, Spain which accounted for about 13 per cent, France (8.42 per cent), Netherlands (7.38 per cent) and Indonesia with over five per cent.

A breakdown of the Report showed that in 2015, Nigeria earned the sum of N10.51trn from its trading partners.

However, the country’s export earnings dropped by N2.08trn to N8.43trn in 2016

The 2016 fiscal period was when Nigeria recorded its first recession under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

But in 2017, the country recorded the sum of N13.59trn from exports. This represents an increase of about N5.16trn when compared to what was earned in 2016.

In 2018 and 2019, export earnings assumed an upward trend with Nigeria grossing N19.03trn and N19.19trn respectively.

The situation, however, changed in 2020 when the export proceeds dropped dramatically by N9.89trn to N9.29trn.

The 2020 period was the year when Nigeria’s economy was on lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The negative impact of the pandemic had made the economy to experience its second recession under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Specifically, the lockdown of the economy occurred on March 31, 2020 and Nigeria’s economy slipped into recession in the third quarter of that year.

The drop in export earnings may have been induced by the lockdown of the economy as business activities were grounded for most part of the 2020 fiscal period.

But in 2021, Nigeria’s economy recovered from recession following the lifting of the lockdown.

The recovery of the economy was seen in the country’s trading activities as export earnings doubled from N9.29trn in 2020 to N18.91trn as of the end of 2021.

In the Federal Government’s policy document for exports titled the Zero Oil Plan, about $150bn or N61.9trn is being projected to be earned from exports.

Through the zero-oil plan, the government through the Nigerian Export Promotion Council had identified 22 priority countries as markets for Nigerian products while 11 strategic products with high financial value have also been identified to replace oil.

These products are palm oil, cashew, cocoa, soya beans, rubber, rice, petrochemical, leather, ginger, cotton, and Shea butter.

The Managing Director, Tak Integrated Agricultural Solutions Limited, Kabir Usman, said Nigeria could earn huge revenue from agriculture if the potential of the sector is effectively harnessed.

He recalled that before the discovery of crude oil, most of the nation’s revenue came from agricultural exports.

He said, “This country was built on foundation of agriculture and export and not on crude oil.

“Fifty years ago, Nigeria was known as nation for agricultural exports. We were known for production of organic farming.

“Agriculture is the only sector that can create millions of jobs we are looking for.”