By NGOZI Onyeakusi ……

 

The non-oil sector of the economy has at the second quarter of this year generated N261.92 billion earnings from the agric exports.

Disclosing this during the official unveiling of the Nigeria Agribusiness Resource Centre for Agricultural Investment at the weekend in Abuja, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh, said agricultural export increased by 82 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2016 and earnings from the sector stood at about N30 billion in the first quarter of the year.

He noted that the country earned N3.7 billion from export of sesame seed to Turkey, N1.6 billion to China and N1.6 billion to Canada.

Ogbeh, who was represented by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Bukar Alhassan, said in the first quarter, N3.4 billion was made on Soya bean export to Russia, N1.2 billion to Greece, N2.2 billion was earned from the export of frozen Shrimps to Netherlands, N1.8 billion made from cashew nuts export to Vietnam and crude palm kernel oil export to The Netherlands netted N1.2 billion.

The minister listed destinations of agricultural exports in the second quarter as including to Asia, Europe, America, Africa and the Oceanic.

He said the country earned N13.5 billion from cashew nuts export to Vietnam with N12.6 billion, India (N1.4 billion) and Kazakhstan (N6.34 million).