Friday, October 3, 2025 - The Nigerian Export Promotion Council, NEPC, says Nigeria’s non-oil export has risen to $1.791 billion in the first quarter, 2025.
The Chief Executive Officer of the council, Nonye Ayeni,
said this at a one-day sensitisation exercise organised by the Council for
Sesame seed farmers, on Thursday in Dutse, Jigawa.
The theme of the workshop is: “A Tactical Involvement for
Enhancing the Production Capacity of Sesame Seed in Jigawa State.”
Represented by Okany Chika Sylvia, Chief Trade Promotion
Officer, NEPC, Ayeni said the export value represents 24.75 per cent increase
compared to 19.59 per cent for the first quarter, 2024.
She said non-oil performance 2024, indicated that sesame
seed ranked number three out of the top 20 export products, amounting to
337.8258 metric tonnes with 4.63 per cent of the quantity exported.
“Nigeria can obtain a significant share in the enormous
forex from sesame seed export in the globlglobal market,” she said.
Mrs Ayeni stressed the need to enhance the nation’s sesame
yields and production, to maximise the export potentials along the value chain.
In a presentation, Sylvia said export of Nigeria’s sesame
seed to Japan between 2019 and 2021, was allegedly threatened due to the
discovery of excess pesticide residue and salmonella.
“The offshoot this discovery was raised by Japan Oil and Fat
Importers and Exporters Association (JOFIEA) on 5th August, 2022.
“Relatively, the Japanese Authorities allegedly confirmed
that a high dose of pesticide residue found in Sesame Seed exported to Japan
between 2019-2021 was 1.9 times in excess of Maximum Residue Limit (MRL),” she
said.
Sylvia highlighted that some of the challenges related to
sesame seed export include poor compliance with sanitary and phytosanitary
requirements, cross contamination during handling process, and lack of proper
documentation by exporters.
The NEPC official highlighted some of the solutions to
include addressing contaminant issue from the farm gate to the market,
comprehensive approach and leveraging training of farmers on Good Agricultural
Practices (GAP).
“The introduction of technology driven traceability system,
tackling logistic hurdles, packaging and product differentiation will also
curtail the situation.
“Quality testing, deployment of modern technology, awareness
campaign as well as establishment of good storage system is vital,” she said.
Sylvia advocated establishment of clusters within medium
term frame, stressing that the council would engage relevant stakeholders to
ensure zero rejection of agricultural exports, especially sesame seed.
“We believe that through strategic engagement, partnerships
Nigeria’s sesame seed export will be boosted and competitively repositioned
across major destination markets.”
Mr Abdulkadir Aliyu, NEPC Coordinator in Jigawa, said the
forum aimed at increasing Nigeria’s sesame seed output.
He said the overall objectives was to help the country tap
into the growing opportunities in the global market, particularly in foreign
exchange earnings.
“This is a valuable opportunity to gain insights and
contribute meaningfully to the development of this important sector,” he said.
One of the participants, Balaraba Ibrahim also called for
the establishment of aggregation centres for sesame seed processing in Jigawa.
She expressed concern over the level of exploitation being
faced by sesame farmers, who lack the capacity to process the produce, adding
the trend forced them to dispose it at cheaper prices.
Another participant, Magaji Rabi’u advised farmers and
residents of the state to explore export opportunities through the NEPC.
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