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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 1268 words, a 4-minute read.

IN BRIEF

⚡ Situational awareness: CBN Governor, Emefiele, says the Central Bank of Nigeria deferred the cashless policy severally to prepare and deepen Nigeria’s payments system infrastructure.

• Nigeria to Earn $3bn Annually from Hibiscus Export to Mexico

• Four years after Yuan swap deal, forex pressure mounts

TRADE

1 big brief: Nigeria to Earn $3bn Annually from Hibiscus Export to Mexico

The Comptroller General, Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS), Dr. Vincent Isegbe, has said the Nigeria is expected to earn about $3 billion annually from hibiscus exports to Mexico, according to a report.

Both NAQS and its Mexican counterpart body, SENASICA, signed a phytosanitary protocol in November to stabilise and grow the export of Nigerian hibiscus flowers (zobo) to Mexico.

Why it matters: Agro-export intensification will boost the country’s overall agricultural productivity, generate sustainable wealth, and improve household incomes among the large swath of the 70 percent population that is engaged in agriculture and agro-allied industries.

Be smart: Nigerian and Mexican governments renewed economic ties last July, three years after it banned Nigeria from exporting Hibiscus flowers to Mexico.

• In 2017, Nigeria exported 1,983 containers of hibiscus flower, also known as zobo leaves and earned $35million within the space of nine months. Unfortunately, the flower was banned as a result of pest infestation seen in some of the consignments shipped into the country.

💬What they're saying: “The service is currently working to democratise the involvement of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in agro-export activities under its Export Improvement Initiative and Export Certification Value Chains. - Dr. Vincent Isegbe, The Comptroller General, Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS).

• “The urgent task that must be done is to reposition our food production system to straddle our local market and the export market like the one and only giant of the continent.”

The bottom line: NAQS is entrusted with the critical mandate to inspect and certify food and agricultural products for export and to facilitate international trade.

TRADE ROUNDUP

TRADE | Four years after Yuan swap deal, forex pressure mounts

• Four years into the Nigeria-China currency exchange programme, trade and currency sale data suggest the deal is barely scratching the surface of the huge illiquidity hurdle importers must surmount to lift goods from the global manufacturing hub.

PORT | Farmers, stakeholders want Govt to address rejection of Agric export

• The National Agency For Food and Drugs Administration and Control, NAFDAC said over 76 percent of Nigeria’s exported agricultural commodities are often rejected by the European Union for not meeting the required standards.

• The rejection is attributed to technical barriers, non-adherence to best practices, and disregard for basic requirements among others.

UPCOMING TRAINING - ABUJA

A MESSAGE FROM GGI

Climate Action: With exploration comes the need for expertise and sustainability

At GGI, we combined expertise, innovation and sustainable practices in meeting our client's engagements. Our actions to mitigate climate change are central to making the world a better place. Learn more.

EXPORT PROMOTION

🗒️ Nigeria: Central Bank to Promote Non-Oil Exports with over N500bn

The Governor of Nigeria's Central Bank, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, said the central bank and the Bankers’ Committee would commit a minimum of N500 billion in loans to Nigeria’s export-oriented firms in a bid to enhance non-oil export earnings.

• Emefiele, who made this known at a press briefing to close the 2022 Bankers’ Committee Retreat on Saturday in Lagos, also vowed that the CBN would continue to support banks with the foreign exchange needs of their customers because of the gains recorded from the RT200 programme.

Why it matters: With this development, the CBN may have reversed its earlier proclamation to discontinue foreign exchange sales to banks by the end of this year.

What they're saying: “In an attempt to boost the volume of export repatriations, there is a need to continue to support our exporters who may need facilities either to bring in equipment with which they can process their goods and make them a high standard that can qualify for export abroad and earn higher value. So the bankers’ committee decided that every year and it should be measurable, the entire banking industry must grant at least a minimum of N500 billion in loans to export-oriented companies that will generate measurable export receipts and non-oil export proceeds that will complement what the CBN is doing.” - Mr. Godwin Emefiele, Nigeria's Central bank governor.

Zoom out: “We will continue to support the market while the banks themselves continue to ramp up their own sources of non-oil exports that can earn FX through repatriation, which they can use to fund the needs of their customers. So, that is good news; I’m sure for those who are asking me ‘are you stopping?’ I’m sure this is the information that you’d like to hear,” he added.

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 TWEET OF THE WEEK

PHOTOS OF THE WEEK

WOMEN IN TRADE: WTO Director General, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, with ITC Executive Director, Pamela Coke-Hamilton, UK's International Tarde Minister, Kemi Badenoch, El Salvador's Minister of Economy, Maria Luisa Hayem and UNCTAD Deputy Secretary-General, Pedro Manuel Moreno at the just concluded 1st World Trade Congress on Gender. Showcasing research on challenges & opportunities for empowering women in Trade. Photo credit: NOI/Twitter