Trade Ministry: Non-oil Exports Peaked at $12.8bn at H1 2025

• Special economic zones generated over $500 million in export revenues, 20,000 direct jobs 

•Deals worth $50.8 billion signed, $5 billion investment pipeline de-risked across priority sectors 

•New national industrial policy to be operationalised nationwide

James Emejo in Abuja

The country’s non-oil exports grew by 21 per cent to $12.8 billion in the first half of last year (H1 2025), Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI) has disclosed.

The figure represented a remarkable improvement over the $6.5 billion target, contributing to a N12 trillion trade surplus during the first six months of 2025, the ministry stated.

Overall trade value expanded by 14 per cent, with further gains expected as trade facilitation reforms and logistics infrastructure continued to mature, FMITI said in a statement showcasing its milestone for 2025 under the leadership of Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole.

The ministry said the review year was marked by a defining phase in the country’s economic repositioning under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, with the ministry delivering critical reforms and results that deepened industrial capacity, expanded exports, and restored investor confidence.

It stated that the newly released National Industrial Policy will be effectively operationalised nationwide, translating strategy into measurable industrial outcomes.

Guided by the national vision, FMITI executed a coordinated reform programme across investment attraction, trade expansion, export diversification, and institutional strengthening. Progress recorded in 2025 reflected strong collaboration across government agencies, the private sector, and development partners, translating policy intent into tangible and measurable economic outcomes.

In the review year, the ministry stated that the country’s Special Economic Zones (SEZs) generated over $500 million in export revenues and created more than 20,000 direct jobs, reinforcing their role as engines of export-led growth, industrialisation, and employment generation through the Nigerian Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) and the Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority (OGFZA).

According to the ministry, “Under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Ministry has recorded a decisive turnaround in investment attraction, responding strategically, rather than reactively, to global economic headwinds and clearly signaling that Nigeria is open for business.

“In 2025, Nigeria significantly strengthened its investment facilitation architecture, transitioning from passive promotion to an active, systems-driven model that reduces information asymmetries, improves project visibility, and enhances the bankability of investment pipelines.

“As a result, four priority projects valued at $13.7 billion have progressed, representing a conversion rate of over 25 per cent from the $50.8 billion in signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs). Through structured deal origination, FMITI has proactively built a de-risked pipeline exceeding $5 billion across priority sectors.

“This execution-driven approach integrates narrative shaping, deal origination, curated deal rooms, and targeted roadshows, supporting investors from first engagement to firm commitment and converting opportunities into bankable projects.”

Among other achievements, the ministry stressed that investor confidence was reinforced in June 2025, when Tinubu hosted several West African presidents at the West Africa Economic Summit, where the Deal Room generated over $400 million in originated and showcased vetted investment deals, signalling renewed regional and global confidence in the economy.

Through proactive international investment promotion and high-level bilateral engagements with and missions to key economies, Oduwole further deepened investment pipelines, reshaped investor perceptions, and strengthened the country’s relevance and influence within global investment circles.

“These engagements have delivered tangible gains, enhancing investor confidence, improving deal flow quality, and positioning Nigeria as a credible, reform-driven destination for long-term capital,” the statement added.

The ministry said, “Collectively, these results affirm that 2025 marked a decisive inflection point for Nigeria, restoring investor confidence, strengthening competitiveness, expanding exports, and laying the foundation for sustained and inclusive growth.

“Building on this momentum, in 2026, FMITI is transitioning from inflection to transformation pathways, with a strong and sustained focus on execution and empirically verifiable impact to support domestic businesses to produce more and accelerate exports, as we welcome and actively host targeted foreign investors on Nigerian soil.

“FMITI will continue to drive investment attraction and retention through the rollout of investor playbooks in four priority sectors, including solid minerals industrial value chains and trade infrastructure investment; digital trade and investment; the creative economy; climate-smart investment and green industrialisation.”

It stated that the investor transformation agenda was being reinforced by strengthening investor facilitation at NIPC’s one-stop shop investor desk, customised digital investment portals, and enhanced coordination across key ministries, departments, and agencies, with a whole-of-government approach to effectively achieve project delivery.