UK pursues diversified trade with Nigeria

The United Kingdom is sharpening its focus on diversifying trade and investment ties with Nigeria, eyeing sectors with untapped growth potential under the Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership (ETIP).

Richard Montgomery, British High Commissioner to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, expressed this motive during an interview with Channels TV this week. The ETIP agreement, designed to “boost the amount of UK investments and trade in Nigeria” will look beyond Nigeria’s traditional trade sectors to spotlight growth potential in other industries.

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“The ETIP has a number of sectors where the UK sees more potential for investment. There are a lot of UK businesses in Nigeria-FMCG, energy, and transnational education. We see a real potential for growth in creatives, in Nigeria’s agricultural exports,” the high commissioner stated.

UK-Nigeria trade already benefits from the removal of tariffs on 99 percent of Nigerian exports to the UK, a decision, implemented in early 2023 to increase the flow of goods like agricultural produce. The British High Commissioner had earlier revealed in May that bilateral trade between Nigeria and the UK is now worth £7 billion, a two percent marginal increase from the previous year.

In the last six months of 2023, Nigeria was the United Kingdom‘s 39th largest trade partner, according to factsheets released by the UK Department for Business and Trade. Refined oil, toilet and cleansing preparations, textile fabrics, general industrial machinery were the top imported products while crude oil, refined oil, gas, aircraft accessories, and metal ores and scrap were the top exported goods

The emphasis now shifts to improving the diversity of trade goods and quality standards. “A lot of growth has to come from internal investments, Nigeria’s own effort,” Montgomery said.

Also, the UK’s collaboration with the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) is paving the way for smoother cross-border movement of goods, aligning Nigerian exports with international requirements. “Meeting standards is important, especially food standards,” said the high commissioner.

He also expressed optimism in working with the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment led by Jumoke Oduwole, who was recently appointed by President Bola Tinubu after serving as special adviser to former president Buhari on Ease of Doing Business.

“She’s got a lot of experience. We’re hoping to work together on various methods of boosting co-investments in the creative sector whether it’s film or music,” said Montgomery.

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Amid this resolve, however, is the UK’s broader effort to “reset” its relationships with key trade partners under Keir Starmer which could pose risks or rewards for Nigeria-UK trade relations.

“The new labour government and the foreign secretary in particular want to reset our relationship with a number of countries, said Montgomery. “It’s a change in tone. He wants to know what people in other countries think and for us to be more responsive.”