Exports of unprocessed raw materials from Nigeria increased sharply to N2.904 trillion in the first nine months of 2025 (9M’25), official data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) show.
The figure represents a rise of 147.4 per cent compared with N1.174 trillion in the same period of 2024, according to the statistical release.
A quarter-by-quarter review of the NBS data shows the total value of raw materials exported in 2025 exceeded corresponding quarterly figures in 2024. In Q1 2025, exports amounted to N1.045 trillion, compared with N439.8 billion in Q1 2024.
In Q2 2025, the value was N819.7 billion, up from N381.745 billion the previous year. In Q3 2025, exports totalled N1.04 trillion, compared with N352.7 billion in Q3 2024.
The 2025 total is also more than five times the N564.73 billion recorded in the first nine months of 2023, reflecting a 442.8 per cent rise over the two-year period.
Major non-oil raw materials exported in 2025 include cocoa beans, raw cashew nuts, sesame seeds, raw lead ores, and various agricultural products such as ginger, rubber, and palm kernel oil.
Other products recorded in the export statistics include urea (whether or not in aqueous solution) and non-monetary gold (including platinum-plated gold) in powder form.
Key international partners in these exports include India, Spain, and the Netherlands.
The rising value of raw materials exports comes amid ongoing government initiatives aimed at discouraging the export of unprocessed commodities and strengthening domestic processing, industrialisation, and backward integration.
These efforts include export bans on specific raw materials in targeted sectors and incentives designed to promote value-added exports.
Lawmakers have also advanced proposals in the National Assembly for legislation to mandate a minimum of 30 per cent local value addition on raw materials before export.
If enacted, the bill would require goods to meet the processing threshold to qualify as exportable and establish penalties for non-compliance.
The NBS data indicate that a significant portion of Nigeria’s export receipts from non-oil commodities continues to be derived from unprocessed raw materials, even as policies encourage local beneficiation of commodities prior to shipment.
