Nigeria’s non-oil exports surged to a record ₦9.2 trillion in the first nine months of 2025, representing a 48 per cent increase from the ₦6.2 trillion recorded in the same period of 2024, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Data from the Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics shows that the sharp rise marks Nigeria’s strongest non-oil export performance since at least 2015, underscoring how the 2023 naira devaluation has reshaped the country’s external trade dynamics.
The weaker naira has improved the global price competitiveness of Nigerian non-oil products, significantly boosting export revenues in naira terms.
Total non-oil exports for the whole of 2023 stood at ₦3.1 trillion, meaning the first nine months of 2025 alone have already tripled that figure.
Monthly Exports Near ₦1 Trillion
In the third quarter of 2025, non-oil exports reached ₦2.996 trillion, up from ₦2.5 trillion in Q3 2024, ₦683 billion in Q3 2023, and ₦438 billion in Q3 2022.
A breakdown of monthly figures shows:
July 2025: ₦1.23 trillion
August 2025: ₦880 billion
September 2025: ₦890 billion
On average, Nigeria now earns close to ₦1 trillion monthly from non-oil exports a level previously unattainable under the former exchange rate regime.
However, analysts caution that NBS trade figures are reported in naira terms, meaning currency depreciation inflates export values even where export volumes may not have increased proportionately.
Oil Still Dominates Export Earnings
Despite the record performance, non-oil exports accounted for only about 12–14 per cent of Nigeria’s total exports on a monthly basis in Q3 2025.
Crude oil, refined petroleum products, and natural gas continue to dominate foreign exchange inflows.
This dependence leaves Nigeria exposed to oil price volatility, indicating that while non-oil exports are growing, they have not yet fundamentally transformed the country’s balance of payments.
What’s Driving the Growth?
NBS data shows that non-oil export growth remains concentrated in capital-intensive and energy-linked sectors rather than broad-based manufacturing:
Chemical and allied products: ₦845 billion
Prepared food, beverages, spirits & tobacco: ₦692 billion
Vehicles, aircraft, vessels & parts: ₦550.8 billion
Vegetable products: ₦214.5 billion
By sector:
Agricultural exports: ₦786.6 billion
Raw materials: ₦1.0 trillion
Solid minerals: ₦100.8 billion
Manufactured goods exports reached ₦2.0 trillion in Q3 2025, while energy-related manufactured exports stood at about ₦91 billion.
Despite exporting ₦2 trillion worth of manufactured goods, Nigeria imported ₦4.75 trillion worth of manufactured products during the same period, highlighting continued reliance on foreign industrial output.
Most manufactured exports remain concentrated in fertilisers, refined petroleum products, petrochemicals, and heavy industrial goods, with limited penetration in light manufacturing and consumer products.
The surge in non-oil exports confirms that Nigerian exporters are responding to improved price incentives following the naira adjustment.
The data also shows Nigeria’s capacity to generate trillion-naira monthly export receipts outside oil under favourable conditions.
However, analysts note that sustained diversification will require deeper industrialisation, improved manufacturing capacity, and reduced dependence on imported goods to achieve long-term economic transformation.
