By Victor Nwachukwu
The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) says the country generated 2.5 billion dollars from January to June from non-oil exports.
Executive Director of the NEPC, Dr Ezra Yakusak said this at a one-day workshop for emerging exporters, on Wednesday in Owerri.
Yakusak, represented by the NEPC’s State Coordinator in Imo, Mr Anthony Ajuruchi, said with the revenue milestone reached, the council could hope to surpass its year 2022 revenue of 4.8 billion dollars by the end of 2023.
Speaking on the theme: “New Exporters; Panacea for Non-Oil Exports Growth,” Yakusak advised newly registered exporters to learn from their experienced counterparts.
He urged successful exporters to share their experiences with new exporters so as to increase the number of players in non-oil exports business in Imo and grow the economy of the state and Nigeria at large.
“This workshop is aimed at building the morale of new exporters when they learn from existing, successful exporters so that we can increase the number of exporters in the state and Nigeria by extension.
“The more people venture into the exports business, the more revenue for the state and the more growth of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and hopefully we will surpass the gains of the previous year,” he said.
The Chief Executive Officer of Ivyl Foods, Mrs Lilian Moses-Okoro, said she had successfully exported her products to Canada, USA and the UK.
She advised the new exporters not to relent in their efforts to grow their products and to register their businesses with the NEPC so as to improve their brands and gain access to business intervention opportunities in the future.
Also, Adeola Ilechukwu of Cannif Trust Ltd., said according to statistics released by the Nigeria Catfish Association in year 2021, the country was exporting 100 metric tons of catfish annually but had gradually begun to decline.
She urged exporters to seek ways to surmount their challenges, adding that the future of Nigeria’s economy depended largely on non-oil exports.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that over 100 new exporters in Imo attended the workshop. (NAN)
