Nigeria’s top agricultural exports in Q3 2022

Nigeria exported agricultural goods worth N84.21 billion in the third quarter of 2022.

This represents a 40.6% decline when compared to N141.77 billion recorded in Q2 2022, but marks a 6% increase compared to N79.41 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2021.

This is contained in the quarterly foreign trade report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) as seen by Nairametrics.

The total agric exports between January and September 2022 stood at N427.6 billion, while a sum of N504.9 billion was earned for the full year of 2021.

• On the flip side, Nigeria imported agricultural goods worth N512.91 billion in Q3 2022, which is 10.4% higher than the N464.4 billion recorded in the previous quarter and 6.4% higher than the corresponding period of 2021 (Q3 2021: N482.21 billion).
• Nigeria is known for its large production of agricultural produce but has however been significantly impacted by various economic and socio-economic issues, which has affected its ability to sufficiently feed its over 200 million population. This has led to increased importation, resulting in an agric trade balance of over N400 billion in Q3 2022.
• Meanwhile, it is important to track the items that fetch Nigeria its export FX earnings, especially non-oil export. Recall that the CBN introduced the RT200 FX programme to earn $200 billion in FX repatriation over the next 3 to 5 years.
• This means that Importers and exporters get N65 for every dollar repatriated and sold at the I&E window. They also get N35 for every dollar repatriated for their use on eligible transactions. According to the CBN, this initiative is already yielding the expected results.

In light of this, below are the top agricultural items exported by Nigeria to other countries in Q3 2022:

Cocoa –N30.76 billion: Nigeria exported cocoa worth N30.76 billion in the third quarter of the year, representing 36.5% of the total agric export recorded in the period. Further breakdown showed that superior quality cocoa beans export stood at N24.58 billion in the period under review.

In addition, a sum of N5.72 billion was earned from the export of superior-quality cocoa, while N450.56 million was generated from the export of other quality cocoa beans.

Cocoa is a small perennial tree crop that primarily comes from the three tropical regions in the world; Southeast Asia, Latin America, and West Africa. Cote d’Ivoire is the single largest producer of cocoa beans, accounting for approximately 31% of the world’s supply.

The fruit is an egg-shaped red-to-brown pod that contains about 30 to 40 seeds, each of which is surrounded by a bitter-sweet white pulp. When the seeds are dried and fermented, they turn brownish red and are known as cocoa beans, the principal ingredient of chocolate.

Sesamum seeds –N19.79 billion: A sum of N19.79 billion was earned by Nigerians from the exportation of sesamum seeds in Q3 2022, accounting for 23.5% of Nigeria’s total agric export. Sesamum seed is also known as sesame or sesame seeds.

Nigeria has been one of the highest sesame seed-producing countries over the years, making the seed an important component of the country’s agricultural export.

Sesame seed comes from a flowering plant mostly grown in Northern Nigeria due to the drought-resistant nature of the seed. It has many uses, but perhaps, its most important use is as a source of sesame oil which is the most demanded vegetable oil in the world because of its zero-cholesterol content.

Cashew nuts –N10.43 billion: Cashew nuts export stood at N10.43 billion in Q3 2022, representing 12.3% of the total agric export in the review period.

Cashew is a tree crop that has been cultivated for food and medicine for many years. The various parts of the cashew fruits are of economic value, which includes apple, nut, and kernel. The primary product of cashew nuts is the kernel, which is the edible portion of the nut.

In confectionery and bakery products, for example, cashew kernels are used in the production of ice creams, chocolates, cakes, and sweets. Cashew nutshell liquid has also been used in making medicine used for treating various illnesses.

Further breakdown showed that cashew nuts are exported in two forms, in shell and shelled. Specifically, a sum of N7.2 billion was earned from the export of cashew nuts in the shell while N3.23 billion was earned from shelled cashew nuts export.

Others include frozen sea foods (N5.79 billion), cut flowers (N3.98 billion), ginger (N2.94 billion), crude palm oil (N2.48 billion), natural cocoa butter (N2.38 billion), soya beans (N1.75 billion), and plants used for perfumes, drugs or insecticides (N791.01 million).