Nigeria earned a total of N66.19 billion from major agricultural exports in the first quarter of this year.
This included sesamum seed, cocoa beans, cashew nuts, soya beans and frozen shrimps and prawns.
Analysis of data sourced from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that, the export value of sesamum seed, cocoa beans, cashew nuts, soya beans, frozen shrimps and prawns in the first quarter of this year almost doubled the N35.20 billion earned from export of manufactured goods, beverages and tobacco within the same period.
The NBS report showed that within the period, Nigeria earned N26.65 billion from sesamum seeds, whether broken or not.
An analysis of the report also showed that sesamum seeds accounted for the highest value of all the major traded agricultural exports within the period.
Nigeria also earned N23.30 billion from fermented Nigerian cocoa beans and N6.03 billion from superior quality raw cocoa beans during the same period.
Cashew and soya beans also earned the country significant income of N5.03 billion from sales of cashew nuts in shells and N3.46 billion from sales of soya beans, whether broken or not.
The present government has been promoting industrialisation through several initiatives, including the reintroduction of Export Expansion Grant meant to encourage export, with more incentives for export of manufactured goods.
The Federal Government budgeted N20 billion and N19.28 billion for the implementation of the grant in 2017 and 2018 respectively, while high interest rates seem to have crowded out credit from the private sector, thereby affecting local
manufacturers.
Recently, the Chief Executive Officer of Financial Derivatives Company, Bismarck Rewane, said it could be time for the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria to consider lowering the 14 per cent Monetary Policy Rate to allow the private sector access to low interest credit.
For a while now, the MPC has retained14 per cent monetary policy rate, seen as “tight enough” to rein-in inflationary pressures.
While the CBN is concerned with bringing down inflation rate since last year to a single digit before possibly adjusting the 14 per cent MPR, Rewane is concerned that the private sector is starved of credit and this may have contributed to low exports largely due to low industrial production.
