Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) Dr. Ezea Yakusak has said that Nigeria generated $2.5billion from the export of non-oil products from January to June 2022.
Yakusak, who spoke to news men in Abuja, in preparation for the forthcoming NEPC Export to begin today, said that Nigeria needs to embrace the export of non-oil products to guarantee Nigeria’s economic development export.
The Executive Director said that the event is being organized in line with the current management’s strategic efforts of imbibing, sustaining and deepening an export culture in the non-oil export ecosystem.
“The Council held its maiden National Conference on Non-oil Export with the theme: Export for Survival: Optimising Nigeria’s Non-Oil Export Potentials.
“The conference provided a veritable platform for stakeholders in the non-oil export sector to ventilate ideas on current and emerging issues affecting the non-oil export sector. Export Week is a continuation of that engagement with critical stakeholders and discerning members of the public.
The objective is to keep the “Export4Survival” campaign on the front burner of national discourse using Export Week as a strategic information and communication tool to change the narratives.
“We envisage that the Export Week will provide a path for business and sector-led activities to thrive as well as help entrepreneurs particularly SMEs look out for new opportunities in the sector.
“Therefore, it is vital for these businesses to have the support and information they need to become successful.”
Asked what is being done to end the rejection of Nigeria’s produce in the international market, Yakusak said that a technical committee has been set up as well as an Implementation committee to address the challenge.
He identified lack of adequate documentation of produce, lack of compliance to export rules, high level of pesticides used in the preservation of produce as well as poor packaging as some of the issues confronting Nigeria’s products in the international market.
