Nigeria earned about N289.3 billion from exporting top 10 agricultural produce between April 2019 and March 2020, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said.
According to NBS sesamum seeds and cocoa beans account for over 60 per cent of the entire exports from the country. These agricultural produce they are the most sought after internationally.
Sesamum seeds, the tiny, oil-rich seeds, have been Nigeria’s agricultural export biggest earner for some years.
During the period under review, Nigeria made the sum of N112.8 billion from the export of the produce and this accounted for 38.9 per cent of the top 10 agricultural products. However, top destinations for the product include Japan, China, Turkey, India, and Vietnam.
For cocoa beans, cocoa (Fermented, superior quality raw cocoa) is Nigeria’s second largest agricultural export. During the period under review, cocoa export was estimated to be N109.6 billion, accounting for 37.8 per cent of the top agricultural exports. While its top destinations include Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Indonesia, Belgium, Malaysia and Estonia.
Meanwhile, cashew nuts are Nigeria’s 3rd biggest agricultural export product. Between March 2019 and March 2020, Nigeria generated a total sum of N38.2 billion from cashew nuts export. While its top export destinations include Vietnam, India, USA, Russia and as well as the Netherlands.
Frozen shrimps and prawns, which ranked 4th on the list, accounted for 3.4 per cent of the biggest export in Nigeria and estimated to be N9.85 billion in the last one year. However, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Vietnam, and the USA are top destinations for their export.