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Happy Tuesday and Welcome to Export Brief. A weekly newsletter with insightful developments and trends on non-oil export trade from Africa's largest economy and from the global stage. If you enjoy EB, share it with friends. 

• ⏲️: This edition is 1106 words, a 4-minute read.

IN BRIEF

⚡ Situational awareness: The United Kingdom has a new Prime Minister, He's Rish Sunak. With imminent cabinet re-shuffling, we look forward to the International Trade secretary in the new government.

• Nigeria records $2.6 billion in bilateral trade with Canada

• Nigeria launches $538 million Special Agro-Processing Zones

TRADE 

1 big brief: Nigeria records $2.6 billion in bilateral trade with Canada

Canada’s High Commissioner to Nigeria, H.E James Christoff has said that Nigeria’s economic diversification policy aligned with Canada’s export capability. He stated this at the LGC 2022 Canada-Nigeria Business & Investment Summit in Toronto. 

• According to Christoff, Nigeria became Canada’s largest trade partner in Africa last year with $2.67 billion in bilateral business trade.

Why it matters: Opportunities for future growth are enormous because Nigeria’s economic diversification policy aligned with Canada’s export capability in agriculture, ICT, education, clean technology and mining.

The advantage: The Canadian government is working with Nigeria on a friendly trade policy to enhance market access in creating an enabling environment for businesses to flourish.

💬What they're saying: “We recently finalized negotiations on a new transport agreement and this will make traveling between the two countries a lot easier and at the same time solidify people-to-people ties, which will be a game changer.” - H.E James Christoff, Canada’s High Commissioner to Nigeria 

• “This event also offers Nigerian and Canadian governments, private investors, and business leaders the platform for a mutually beneficial discussion; and discusses ways to create conditions for more Canadian investments in Nigeria, particularly in manufacturing and services,” - Mr. Sam Adewale, President of Leadership and Governance Canada

The bottom line: To harness these investment opportunities and strengthen relations, Nigeria needs trade and investments with actionable outcomes to boost its economy.

TRADE ROUNDUP

TRADE | Envoy pledges to resuscitate Nigeria, Russia trade relations

• The envoy said that to address the low trade challenge, he had to consider areas of the Nigerian economy to focus on to ensure balance of trade and increase export from Nigeria to Russia.

EXPORT | SMEDAN, NEPC train 100 persons on entrepreneurship, export skills

• The Small and Medium Scale Enterprises Development Agency has trained one hundred entrepreneurs, mostly women, in entrepreneurship and export facilitation skills. This is to ensure that Micro, Small and medium enterprises are strategically positioned to take advantage of international supply and value chains

UPCOMING TRAINING

IN THE NEWS

EXPORT PROMOTION

🗒️ Nigeria launches $538 million Special Agro-Processing Zones

Nigeria has launched the long-awaited Special Agro-Processing Zones Programme, SAPZ, in seven States and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, according to a report by Vanguard.

Why it matters: Nigeria's Vice-President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo described the SAPZ as a game-changer, as it would give a boost to food production, wealth creation, employment generation, and export.

Be smart: The Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) programme is a government-enabled and private sector-led initiative that will mobilise private sector investment to develop value chains for selected strategic crops and livestock in the participating States.

In more details: Nigeria will implement the first phase of the SAPZ programme with co-financing from the African Development Bank, AfDB, International Fund for Agricultural Development, IFAD, and Islamic Development Bank, IsDB.

• The participating States under Phase 1: Kaduna, Kano, Kwara, Oyo, Ogun, Imo, Cross Rivers, and Federal Capital Territory, FCT.

By the numbers:  The total amount mobilised for Phase 1 is $538.05 million, of which African Development Bank is providing $210 million; the IFAD together with the Green Climate Fund, $160 million; IsDB $150.52 million, the Federal Government $2.01 million, and $16.01 million from the seven participating States.

What they're saying: “With the SAPZ project we will have reached $700 million in direct investment with Nigeria and with cofinancing $1.2 billion with our partners in Nigeria." -  Katherine Meighan, Vice President, IFAD

The bottom line: The Programme is designed to bring about import substitution in order to reduce food import bills, boost revenue from agriculture exports, create wealth for rural farming communities, create new sustainable jobs for women and youths, revive public and private sector-funded assets and improve the business environment.

A MESSAGE FROM GGI

IEOM

Join us in our quest to make Africa's largest economy to be self-sufficient through non-oil export and become a member of IEOM.

DATA WATCH 

A MESSAGE FROM HARRITEX

 TWEET OF THE WEEK

PHOTOS OF THE WEEK

1ST ASIAN & YOUNGEST BRITISH PM: New British Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. Rishi Sunak in a handshake with King Charles III after his election as the leader of his Conservatives party. Photo credit: RoyalFamily/Twitter