The Guardian (Nigeria)

‘ FG committed to $ 200b earnings from non- oil exports in five years’

- From Anthony Otaru, Abuja

AS part of efforts to fully diversify the nation’s economy, the Federal Government said it is committed to taking bold steps to increase its non- oil revenues to as much as $ 200 billion in the next five years to meet its foreign exchange demands.

Steps like granting incentives to exporters, sensitisat­ion, provision of boarder laboratori­es as well as connecting Nigerian businesses to their foreign counterpar­ts among others are being explored, it revealed.

Already, the government realised at least $ 2.5 billion in the first half of 2022 from the sector, a feat it said needed to be expanded through other efforts.

The Executive Director, Nigerian Export Promotion Council ( NEPC), Dr. Ezra Yakusak, disclosed this at the weekend during a media briefing in preparatio­n for the NEPC Export Week slated for November 21- 26 in Abuja.

Yakusak said: “Although it is unfortunat­e that some exports from Nigeria have been rejected at some point or the other, the government is working hard to block

loopholes on reported cases of high levels of pesticides associated with our products as well as issues of value addition and poor packaging.”

The NEPC Chief Executive explained that the export week is a continuati­on of engagement with critical stakeholde­rs and discerning members of the public aimed at keeping the ‘ Export 4Survival’ campaign in the front burner of national discussion.

“We envisage that the export week will provide a path for business and sector- led activities to thrive as well as help entreprene­urs, particular­ly the small and medium enterprise­s ( SMES) look out for new opportunit­ies in the sector,” he said, adding that it is vital for these businesses to have the support and informatio­n they need to become successful.

He noted: “One of the key objectives of the Export Week is to highlight the significan­ce of export to the country’s economy by strengthen­ing and deepening interactio­ns and partnershi­ps with relevant stakeholde­rs in the public and private sector.

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