Nigeria’s long-running quest to free its economy from overdependence on crude oil appears to be yielding tangible results, as the country’s non-oil exports surged to a historic high of $6.1 billion in 2025, marking the strongest performance in nearly five decades. The figure represents an 11.5 per cent increase over the $5.4 billion recorded in 2024 and stands as the highest value of formally documented non-oil exports since the establishment of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) almost 50 years ago.
DDM NEWS reports that the milestone was disclosed on Monday in Abuja by the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the NEPC, Mrs. Nonye Ayeni, during the council’s annual progress report and 2026 non-oil export outlook briefing. The announcement has been widely interpreted by policymakers and analysts as a major boost to Nigeria’s economic diversification agenda, which aims to reduce exposure to volatile global oil prices while strengthening foreign exchange earnings.
Addressing stakeholders, Ayeni said data obtained from pre-shipment inspection agencies confirmed that Nigeria had not only surpassed its 2024 performance but had also broken all previous records in the history of formal non-oil trade. According to her, the 2025 outcome represents a watershed moment for the export sector and validates years of policy reforms, private-sector engagement, and targeted support for exporters.
“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,” Ayeni said. “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 stressed that the achievement was not incremental but historic, noting that it represents the highest value of formally documented non-oil exports since the council’s inception. “This marks the highest non-oil export value achieved in the country for formal documented trade and also from the inception of the council almost 50 years ago,” she said. “So we have indeed beaten our own records of last year.”
DDM NEWS understands that beyond the impressive headline value, the 2025 performance also reflected broad-based growth across multiple sectors of the economy. Ayeni explained that the $6.1 billion export value was driven by increased activity across several value chains, including agricultural commodities, processed and semi-processed goods, industrial inputs, and solid minerals. This, she noted, points to gradual but steady progress in value addition and product diversification, two critical pillars of sustainable export growth.
In terms of volume, Nigeria’s non-oil exports also recorded a significant jump. Total export volumes reached 8.02 million metric tonnes in 2025, up from 7.29 million metric tonnes in 2024, representing an increase of nearly 10 per cent. The growth in both value and volume suggests that Nigeria is not only exporting more goods but is also capturing better prices through improved quality, processing, and access to international markets.
Ayeni further revealed that Nigeria exported 281 distinct non-oil products in 2025, underscoring the country’s expanding export basket and deeper integration into global value chains. According to her, this diversification is critical to insulating the economy from shocks and creating jobs across agriculture, manufacturing, mining, and logistics.
“In 2025 alone, Nigeria exported a total of 281 non-oil products,” she stated. “This reflects our steady transition towards value-added exports and deeper integration into global value chains.”
DDM NEWS reports that the achievement comes amid renewed government efforts to boost foreign exchange inflows, stabilise the naira, and strengthen macroeconomic resilience. For decades, Nigeria’s heavy reliance on crude oil exports left the economy vulnerable to global price swings, production disruptions, and external shocks. The sharp fall in oil prices in previous years exposed these vulnerabilities and intensified calls for diversification.
While celebrating the record-breaking performance, the NEPC boss cautioned that the figures still do not fully capture Nigeria’s true export potential. She noted that a significant volume of trade continues to take place informally across Nigeria’s land borders, particularly within West and Central Africa. Such transactions, though economically relevant, often fall outside official documentation and therefore do not reflect in national export statistics.
To address this gap, Ayeni said the council is working closely with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and other key stakeholders to mainstream informal trade into official export records. According to her, improving data accuracy will not only provide a clearer picture of Nigeria’s trade performance but also help policymakers design more effective interventions for exporters.
DDM NEWS gathered that the NEPC plans to intensify reforms and support measures in 2026 to sustain the current momentum. These include expanded export incentives, enhanced capacity-building programmes for small and medium-scale exporters, improved access to finance, and stronger collaboration with state governments to develop export-ready clusters.
Ayeni emphasised that sustaining growth will require consistency in policy implementation, infrastructure development, and trade facilitation. She added that ongoing efforts to simplify export procedures, reduce logistics bottlenecks, and improve quality standards would remain a priority for the council.
Analysts say the latest figures signal a gradual shift in Nigeria’s economic structure, with non-oil exports beginning to assume a more prominent role in foreign exchange generation. While crude oil still dominates export earnings, the rising contribution of non-oil sectors is seen as a positive indicator of long-term stability and inclusive growth.
For many stakeholders, the record-breaking $6.1 billion performance is more than just a statistical milestone. It represents renewed confidence in Nigeria’s productive sectors and highlights the potential of agriculture, manufacturing, and solid minerals to drive economic transformation if properly supported.
As Nigeria looks ahead to 2026, DDM NEWS reports that expectations are high that sustained reforms, improved market access, and continued diversification will push non-oil exports even further, reinforcing the country’s path toward a more balanced, resilient, and competitive economy on the global stage.