The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), has attributed the low value of agricultural produce from Nigeria in the international market to the raw state in which they are exported without processing and packaging to attract more financial value for them.
According to the Executive Director of NEPC/CEO, Dr Ezra Yakusak, exporters will earn more revenue from their produce if they add more value to it.
Yakusak said this at the Commerce and Industry Correspondents Association of Nigeria (CICAN) conference on Wednesday in Abuja said Nigeria is so blessed, we have so many products in this country that you will be amazed.
The conference has as its theme: “The Role of the Non-Oil Sector Toward Economic Diversification, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Growth”.
Yakusak emphasised that proper packaging and value addition were critical toward optimising the value of any product.
He said that adding value to produce and ensuring proper packaging would guarantee acceptability in the world market.
Yakusak attributed the low value of agricultural produce from Nigeria in the international market to the raw state in which they are exported without processing and packaging to attract more financial value for them.
According to him, exporters will earn more revenue from their produce if they add more value to it.
Yakusak said that the volume of products exported in 2022 was prompting NEPC to create a programme “Export 774’’ with a view to identifying exportable products in the 774 local government areas in Nigeria.
He said the Export 774 is targeted at identifying the products in all the 774 local governments of Nigeria adding that they have identified them, their potentials and of course the specific places where they are cited.
Earlier, Mr Ifeanyi Onuba, the Chairman of CICAN, expressed the association’s optimism about the growth of Nigeria’s economy through non-oil exports.
According to Onuba, recent developments have shown that the Federal Government’s drive for economic diversification from the oil to the non-oil sectors, given the volatile nature of crude oil prices, is yielding the desired results.
“Nigeria must move beyond oil and export of raw commodities and build a vibrant manufacturing sector capable of exporting finished goods that could boost the nation’s foreign exchange earnings,’’ Onuba said.
