Stakeholders in the Nigerian non-oil sector have advocated the need for improved standard and regulation to stimulate non-oil produce to boost exportation.
They said this at a virtual non-oil exports dialogue, organised by the Policy Development Facility Bridge Program, with a focus on addressing barriers to foreign market access.
Speaking at the programme, the Director-General, National Agriculture Quarantine Service, Vincent Isegbe, lamented that Nigeria, which is among the top producers of agriculture goods, had faced series of challenges in exporting its non-oil produce as they were often below international standard.
“It is time we begin to complain less and start doing what is right. We encourage our local producers to ensure that their products are fit for both local consumption and export,” he said.
He stressed the need for adequate preparation of produce before export, adding that there was a need for collaboration among stakeholders to regulate production processes and ensure that products meet international standard.
“Any farmer producing for export should engage NAQS from the time of planting to harvest. Each value chain must play their role to ensure self regulation and ease the passage and acceptance of local commodities,” he said.
In his remarks, the PDF-Bridge Trade policy Expert Olumuyiwa Alaba, said that although diversification had been of recurring urgency in the agenda of successive administrations in Nigeria, efforts towards achieving a sustainable diversified economy had not yielded the desired result.
He explained that promoting market access for non-oil exports was the most sustainable way to get the economy diversified.
The expert said, “We are putting dialogue in place to stimulate action to stimulate diversification beyond talks. Market access remains a major hurdle that Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in export must cross.
“Nigeria has recorded positive trade balance over the past one decade, but it is sad to note that this position is largely driven by oil exports.”
He added, “Nigeria was the 6th largest exporter of ginger, worldwide, in 2018; we produce about 523,000 metric of ginger annually; we have a market for leather, textile and garment, spices and many other produce.
“We need to look away from oil export and build up the Non-Oil sector for exports.”
Alaba also called on stakeholders to address the identified challenges, which had impeded the successful export of non-oil produce.
He identified some of the challenges that impeded the non-oil export to include poor logistics, over bearing cost incurred by exporters, before and beyond the border challenge and lack of trade related infrastructure.
“There is an urgent need to dismantle these barriers, facilitate a conducive environment to attract private sector investment and exploit the opportunities in the non-oil sector,” he added.
The Director, Strategy and Policy, Nigeria Export Promotion Council, Evelyn Obidike, in her remarks, said that, as part of efforts to leverage on the opportunities in the non-oil sector, the Council recently launched the Zero-oil plan to boost local production and prepare them for export.
She said that the plan was a nationwide strategy that sought to deepen collaboration among states to build resilience in the domestic market.
The objectives of the dialogue are to facilitate policy discourse on market access challenges and recommendations for improvement using evidence from the market access study, create a platform for non-oil exporters and equip MSMEs with the necessary knowledge to enhance their ability to gain initial access to some selected International markets using spices and herbs, textiles and garnets and leather products as case studies.
