The decision of three members of the Economic Community of West African States ECOWAS, comprising Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, which constitute the Sahel States to exit the Community is currently taking its toll on Nigeria’s non-oil exports, especially agricultural and allied products, which recorded a sharp decline.

Recall that the three countries had on January 29, 2005 officially pulled out of the ECOWAS Community to form the Alliance of Sahel States AES. The three nations, which are under military rule had said they were not satisfied with the foreign influence on ECOWAS, sanctions, and failure of the Community to combat jihadist violence, aiming for greater sovereignty and security collaboration.

According to trade statistics covering January-December, 2025, released by the Nigeria Exports Promotion Council NEPC, the country exported non-oil products to 11 member countries of ECOWAS, totalling about 1.23 million metric tonnes with the value put at $272 million.

 Executive Director/CEO of the NEPC, Nonye Ayeni, who released the figures to newsmen recently, noted that these figures constitute a 4.6 per cent decline of the total export within the Community, attributing it to exit of Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger from the ECOWAS Community.

Meanwhile on a general note, the NEPC reports that Nigeria’s non-oil exports rose by 11.5 per cent to $6.1 billion in 2025 over the $5.4 billion recorded in 2024.

According to the Council, data obtained from pre-shipment inspection agencies indicated that the 2025 performance marks the highest non-oil export value ever recorded in Nigeria’s history of formal, documented trade and since the establishment of the council nearly 50 years ago

“In terms of volume, Nigeria’s non-oil exports reached 8.02 million metric tonnes in 2025, representing a 10 per cent increase when compared to the 7.29 million metric tonnes recorded in 2024. This growth in both value and volume is attributable to the improved export activities across multiple value chains and market destinations.

“Nigeria exported 281 non-oil products during the year, including agricultural commodities, processed and semi-processed goods, industrial inputs, and solid minerals. This reflects steady progress toward value addition and broader product diversification in the global market.

Nigeria’s non-oil exports reached 120 countries in 2025, with the Netherlands emerging as the top destination, accounting for 17.53 per cent of total exports. Brazil followed with 10.35 per cent, while India accounted for 7.63 per cent.

“Despite the strong performance, these figures do not fully reflect Nigeria’s export potential because a significant volume of trade still occurs informally across land borders.

“The NEPC is working with the National Bureau of Statistics NBS, the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN, and other stakeholders to integrate informal trade into official export records and so the NEPC will continue to build on key indices such as capacity building, training, and education, which are critical to equipping exporters with the skills and tools they require to be able to play in the global market”, the NEPC CEO also said.