Nigeria’s diversification drive pays off as non-oil exports rise 11.5% to $6.1bn in 2025 – NEPC
Nigeria’s non-oil exports climbed to a historic high of $6.1 billion in 2025, representing an 11.5 per cent increase from the $5.4 billion recorded in 2024, the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has said, in a development seen as a major boost to the country’s economic diversification drive away from crude oil dependence.
Nonye Ayeni, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the NEPC, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja during her annual progress report and 2026 non-oil export outlook briefing.
Ayeni said data obtained from pre-shipment inspection agencies showed that Nigeria had surpassed its previous best performance, describing the 2025 outcome as a historic milestone for formal, documented trade.
“Ladies and gentlemen, based on the records obtained from pre-shipment inspection agencies, Nigerian non-oil export performance in 2025 reached an all-time high. The non-oil export sector rose to approximately 6.1 billion U.S. dollars, representing a year-on-year growth of about 11.5 per cent over and above the 5.4 billion U.S. dollars recorded in 2024.
She described the 2025 performance as a historic milestone for the sector, noting that it represents the highest value of formally documented non-oil exports recorded since the establishment of the council nearly five decades ago, surpassing all previous records and underscoring Nigeria’s growing momentum in expanding its non-oil export base.
“This marks the highest non-oil export value achieved in the country for formal documented trade in the country and also from the inception of the council almost 50 years ago. So we have indeed beaten our own records of last year. So Nigeria has 6.1 billion U.S. dollars in terms of value for non-oil export,” she said.
According to her, the $6.1bn export value reflects improved activity across several value chains, supported by expanding market access and increasing product diversification.
Beyond value, Ayeni noted that export volumes also rose significantly, with total non-oil exports hitting 8.02 million metric tonnes in 2025, compared with 7.29 million metric tonnes in 2024, representing a 10 per cent increase.
She explained that the strong performance cut across agricultural commodities, processed and semi-processed goods, industrial inputs, and solid minerals, indicating gradual progress in value addition and broader product representation.
“In 2025 alone, Nigeria exported a total of 281 non-oil products. This reflects our steady transition towards value-added exports and deeper integration into global value chains,” Ayeni stated.
However, the NEPC boss cautioned that the impressive figures did not fully capture the country’s export potential, noting that a significant volume of trade still occurs informally across Nigeria’s land borders.
She said the council was working with the National Bureau of Statistics, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and other stakeholders to mainstream informal trade into official export records, improve data accuracy, and strengthen policy support for exporters.
Ayeni added that ongoing reforms, export incentives, and capacity-building initiatives would be intensified in 2026 to sustain growth and expand Nigeria’s non-oil export footprint.
According to the NEPC, the latest performance comes amid renewed government efforts to boost foreign exchange earnings, stabilise the naira, and reduce the economy’s vulnerability to oil price shocks by deepening non-oil export revenues.
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