New Post

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 1272 words, a 4-minute read.

IN BRIEF

⚡ Situational awareness: Nigeria's headline inflation for March 2023 was 22.04%, from 21.91% in February 2023. Food Inflation was 24.45% in March 2023 from 24.35% in February 2023, according to data released by NBS.

• Nigeria witnesses rise In agro-produce exports

• Forex, others frustrate stockfish import, exports in Nigeria

NON-OIL EXPORT 

1 big brief: Nigeria Witnesses Rise In Agro-Produce Exports

Nigeria’s agricultural produce exports in recent years have grown rapidly, with Europe, America and Asia being the major destinations. Cocoa beans top the list on the export chart, while cashew nuts, sesame seeds, hibiscus flowers, soya beans and ginger.

🇳🇬Why it matters: The export of agricultural products to these countries now accounts for nearly 80 per cent of Nigeria’s total exports.

• Agro exports surged to a five-year high in 2022 amid a local production push, according to a report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

By the numbers: The data shows that a total of N598.2billion worth of agricultural products were exported in 2022, accounting for 18.5 per cent increase when compared to the figure recorded in 2021. This has, in no small measure, pushed the interest of Nigerians into export business.

• Interestingly, countries in Europe have become very important markets for Nigerian exporters, thereby making demand for agro-export to surge.

💬What they're saying: The Customs area controller, Lilypond Export Processing Terminal in Lagos, Mohammed Babandede, said the command processed a total of 118,184.96 tons of non-oil exports between January and March of 2023.

• He put the Free On Board (FOB) value of the total export within the three months under review at N86.53billion.

Bottom line: Nigeria’s quest to increase its export earnings received a significant boost in the fourth quarter of 2022 with the establishment of the Nigeria Customs Export Processing Command in Ijora, Lagos, with the command becoming a one-stop-shop for agro-export.

GTR WEST AFRICA STARTS TOMORROW

Attend GTR West Africa 2023 as a guest of IEOM

This event is a paid event and for corporate attendees, the fee is $499 while the standard rate is $1799. That information is also available here.

• IEOM is an institutional partner for GTR West Africa 2023 and this allows the Institute to admit a limited number of our corporate members to the event for FREE. As a corporate member of IEOM, your company can send a company representative to the event without the need to pay the standard or corporate rate.

• IEOM corporate membership costs N150, 000.00 and this is an annual subscription providing access to real benefits which include access to business roundtables (breakfast meetings), publications including research, discounted training, market intelligence for specific markets/products. For value, this is a much greater value than the standard/corporate rate for a one-time event.

TRADE ROUNDUP

TRADE | Forex, others frustrate stockfish import, exports in Nigeria

• Stakeholders in the stock fish and seafood import and export in the aquaculture industry have identified access to grants for off-takers in the value chain, lack of access to foreign exchange (forex) and lack of awareness on the requirement for import and export as challenges impeding the growth of the sector.

EXPORT | NEPC Deepens Nigeria’s Non-oil Exports To China

• The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has announced plans to deepen the volume of non-oil export trade to China.

• With the help of its Market Access Department (MAD), Nigerian exporters would be equipped and enlightened on how to leverage the General Administration of Chinese Customs (GACC), a new clearing system introduced by the Chinese government in 2021 to boost non-oil export trade to China.

UPCOMING EVENT

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.

IEOM

The Institute of Export Operations & Management, as a Trade Support Institute is out to stimulate and facilitate non-oil export in Nigeria. Our vision is to become the foremost independent provider of export training and best research practice in Nigeria. In line with our mission, our intensive training progams both online and on-premise among others are designed to optimize your trade capacity and knowledge. We actualize this through the following: 

• Access to Low-Interest Loan from our partner Bank*

• Export breakfast meetings

• The Export Brief magazine

• Seminars and workshops

• Banker and Exporter training

• Trade access and facilitation

Trade Intelligence Unit (TIU) is a division of IEOM Nigeria, providing export trade information, research, insights and analytics for organizations, agencies of government, businesses and individuals to help them make informed decisions. We help our clients by leverage on our proprietary tools to create access into our rich trade database in delivering innovative solutions.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.*We have partnered with Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria in creating access to low-interest loans for our MSMEs members.For enquiries on memberships, trainings and collaboration on sponsorships of events, newsletters and magazine you can reach us on+234 909 332 8361, +234 808 302 [email protected]. 

COVER PAGE OF THE WEEK

• "I am fascinated and awed by the new generative AI models popping up everywhere. But I have struggled with how to think about them. Should we be excited or anxious about this fast-moving technology—or both? The abilities of “large language models”—of the sort that power ChatGPT, a chatbot made by OpenAI—seem to have surprised everyone, including their creators.

•  In a special, expanded Science and Technology section, our writers explain how large, creative AI models work, the ways they could go wrong and what capabilities they might gain next. They’ve done a superb job of describing complex concepts in a clear and accessible way, including with interactive diagrams in digital versions of the articles.

•  In an accompanying essay we look to history—from the printing press to computer browsers—to understand how this technology might change the world. Our leader pages, meanwhile, weigh the risks and opportunities of AI.

- Zanny Minton Beddoes - Editor-in-chief

ADVERTISE IN EB NEWSLETTER

DATA WATCH

TWEET OF THE WEEK

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

IMF MEETINGS: Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director, IMF and Dr. Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, Nigeria's Finance Minister at the IMF/World Bank Spring meetings in Washington DC recently. Image credit: IMF