An expert in Export business and the Lead Consultant at 3T Impex Consulting Limited, Mr. Bamidele Ayemibo, has highlighted the enormous non-oil export opportunities in Nigeria that need to be fully explored by exporters.
Speaking as a panelist during a webinar organized by Stanbic IBTC tagged ‘Getting Your Business Export Ready’, Mr. Ayemibo said Nigeria is endowed with tremendous export opportunities. He, however, regretted that these opportunities have not been adequately explored due to economic headwinds.
The non-oil exports: Mr. Ayemibo noted that the majority of the agric products that Nigeria produces are exportable and that the country is among the top 15. He said:
- “Nigeria is even ranked as the largest producer of some products like yam and cassava. But what has happened also for some of these commodities is because our yield is low, so we need to ramp up production to be able to increase the volume of the production in that space.”
He also mentioned the opportunities in the solid minerals sector. According to him, there has been a huge demand for lithium due to the growing craving for renewable energy across the globe. He said:
- “We’ve done a lot of lead, a lot of zinc, a lot of copper, but in recent times because of the high demand for Battery and the need for renewable energy, there is equally a lot of demand for lithium. So much lithium is being shipped out of Nigeria now to a different part of the world, particularly China.”
He further explained that he would have strongly recommended raw commodities but recent research has revealed that there is more demand for secondary products than raw commodities and finished products.
Advice for exporters: Mr. Ayemibo urged exporters to get ready to leverage the opportunities, hoping that whoever emerges as the president after the election will be able to implement his campaign promise so that there will be a more enabling environment for export business in the country.
Mrs. Ifeoma Abdul, Manager, Trade Finance, Business and Commercial Clients, Stanbic IBTC, listed challenges facing export business in Nigeria to include issues of political instability, frequent regulatory changes, dearth of infrastructure, currency fluctuations, difficulty in assessing finance, ability to understand the target market, a regulation that governs countries of export, diverse in culture among others.
