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Nigeria has seen its highest agricultural trade value surged by 304 percent in 2024, the highest in five years.

In the last five years (2020 – 2024), agric trade jumped to N8.2 trillion in 2024 from N2 trillion in 2020 on volatile naira and diversification drive, according to data from the foreign trade report.

In 2024, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), agriculture recorded a trade surplus, with exports surpassing imports by 17 percent for the period. Marking the first time export surpassed import trade since 2020.

Agric trade grew slightly to N3.2 trillion in 2021 but slumped to N2.5 trillion in 2022. In 2023, it rose slightly, accruing N3.5 trillion.

Jude Obi, president of the Association of Organic Agriculture Practitioners of Nigeria, said a lot of people would rather sell their produce in the international market than sell locally because of FX fluctuations and the gains that come with it.

“People prefer to export their produce than sell locally,” he explained, noting that this could also be a reason why food prices soared last year.

The naira has lost over 70 percent of its value from June 2023 to date, allowing agribusinesses to swim in a huge volume of money as a result of the dollar/naira exchange rate.

Read also: Agric growth hits 5-yr low as food insecurity lingers

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Ibrahim Kabiru, national president of All Farmers Association of Nigeria, said there is an increased interest in agriculture and agribusiness due to a growing population in Africa’s most populous nation.

“Nigeria has a large population, therefore, people must come into agriculture, especially because of food. So we understand the driver of the interest,” he said.

“There are many things that can be done in agriculture. It has become a business, so many people are interested. You can do a lot of e-commerce in agriculture. So there is a lot of interest in the region,” he added.

Durum wheat remained a major import commodity for Nigeria. Countries such as the United States, Asia, Japan, Turkey, and Germany were some of Nigeria’s core trade partners.

For exports, cocoa, sesamum, cashew, ginger and frozen shrimps, among others topped the charts for agric commodities in 2024 as has been the case in the last five years, further stamping their global demand.

“People would prefer to go into agricultural produce that have high international market demand because of the financial gains involved,” added Obi.

Annual growth of the agric sector grew marginally at 1.19 percent in the full year of 2024, compared to 1.13 percent in 2023. In terms of GDP, the sector’s contribution fell slightly by 24.64 percent in 2024 from 25.18 percent in 2023.