Lagos, Nigeria – Nigerian exporters are making limited use of the African Continental Free Trade Area and the United Kingdom’s Developing Countries Trading Scheme despite non oil exports rising to 12.36 trillion naira in 2025, according to a new market survey by the Network of Practicing Non Oil Exporters of Nigeria released with support from UK International Development.
Okay News reports that the study, based on desk research, exporter surveys, key informant interviews and a multi location validation workshop, found a “highly skewed” export landscape dominated by very small players and a “missing middle” between micro exporters and large, high value firms, even as headline export numbers and destination markets expand.
Survey data show that 66 per cent of Nigerian exporters operate below 50,000 dollars in annual export value, 62 per cent of reported constraints arise before the border from domestic bottlenecks, only half of exporters shipped at least once in the last 24 months, 34 per cent cite shipping costs as a major constraint and 37 per cent frequently face limited working capital, while women led exporters participate actively but mostly at small scale.
Researchers concluded that most exporters either do not know how to use AfCFTA and the UK Developing Countries Trading Scheme or have never received practical guidance, and urged authorities to launch an immediate, hands on utilisation programme that walks businesses step by step through requirements and procedures instead of relying on market access “on paper.”
The report argues that turning preferential market access into real competitiveness will require closing domestic compliance gaps, improving institutional coordination, cutting logistics costs, easing access to finance, building stronger buyer linkages and raising practical awareness of how to operationalise tariff preferences and rules of origin in day to day exporting.
Nigeria’s non oil exports nonetheless grew sharply in 2025, with National Bureau of Statistics data showing 12.36 trillion naira in shipments between January and December, up from 9.09 trillion naira in 2024, as agriculture, manufacturing and mineral products contributed more to external earnings in line with plans to reduce dependence on crude oil.
Network of Practicing Non Oil Exporters of Nigeria president Ahmad Rabiu said opportunities under AfCFTA and the UK scheme are “significant” but stressed that realising them will depend on awareness, capacity, coordination and targeted policy support to remove structural barriers and streamline processes so Nigerian firms can compete effectively.
The survey concludes that Nigeria’s potential under AfCFTA and the UK Developing Countries Trading Scheme remains largely unrealised and recommends systemic domestic reforms, firm level capacity building and structured market linkage mechanisms to shift from fragmented, irregular participation to sustained, value added and resilient non oil export growth.
Nigeria has already gazetted and transmitted its ECOWAS tariff schedule for trade in goods to the AfCFTA Secretariat, enabling zero duties on up to 90 per cent of goods traded under the pact and, in principle, positioning Nigerian exporters for better access and competitiveness across African markets if utilisation challenges can be overcome.
