The federal government have been urged to look beyond agro- commodities and pay more attention to services to boost the country’s non-oil exports.
Experts who spoke at the 9th edition of the Annual Zenith Bank International Trade Seminar themed ‘Nigerian Non-Oil Export Industry: Awakening the Giant,’ said the country could take advantage of its over 70 percent youth population through services exchange.
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“With 70 percent of Nigeria’s population being youths, we have the capacity to provide more services in the international market,” Obiora Madu, chief executive officer, Multimix Group, said during a panel session.
Madu said more awareness needs to be raised for services exporting, as is the case for commodities.
“I don’t think the exportation of services is discussed enough in Nigeria,” he said. “Globally, services export is growing faster than commodity export. Investment in services export will develop a total investment in the global market.”
He urged that more attention be given to service exports, noting that Nigeria can harness its opportunities to grow its non-oil exports.
Data from the Gross Domestic Product second-quarter showed that Nigeria’s total non-oil export in first quarter 2024 were worth $1.2 billion (N1.8 trillion), accounting for 9.28 percent of total exports during the period.
Analysis of the data shows that Nigeria’s non-oil sector was majorly driven by financial institutions, information and communications, agriculture -crop production, trade and manufacturing – food and beverage.
The non-oil sector contributed 94.30 percent to the nation’s GDP in Q2 of 2024, lower than the 94. recorded in the same quarter of 2023 which was 94.66 percent and higher than the first quarter of 2024 recorded as 93.62 percent.
On his part, Otunba Faseru, commissioner for agriculture and food security, Osun State said the country must encourage value addition in agriculture.
“We have what it takes to boost food production. We have the land, water and we can plant all year round,” Faseru, who is also the founder of Colossus Investment Limited, said.
Read also: Non-oil exports rise by 6.26%, hits $2.7bn in first half of 2024
Also, he called on the government to give incentives to exporters which would aim to encourage more people into the business.
In her welcome address, Adaora Umeoji, the group managing director and chief executive officer of Zenith Bank Plc, highlighted the importance of non-oil export as a catalyst for job creation.
According to her, the theme ‘Awakening the Giant,’ speaks directly to the untapped potential within the non-oil segment of the economy and how to optimise them.
The event which was held on Wednesday at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, brought together different stakeholders in the non-oil export ecosystem.
