China has been Nigeria’s primary import supplier in the last five years, bringing about 38% of total imports. During these years, Nigeria had a cumulative trade deficit of N18.3 trillion, or approximately $40 billion in net foreign currency, with China.
On Sunday, the Nigerian government submitted a formal request to have Nigerian agricultural items removed from the Chinese Protocol Lists. This removal aims to increase Nigeria’s non-oil exports and boost trade with China.
Ezra Yakusak, the MD/CEO of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), revealed the increase in trade between the two countries in a meeting with Guo Ning, the Deputy Director General of the Department of Commerce in the Hunan province, and Yang Mingwei, the Inspector of the Department of Commerce in the province.
The meeting, which occurs before the China-Africa commercial expo later this year, is an opportunity for the two countries to increase their $12 billion in annual trade.
In a public meeting organized by the Changsha Municipal Bureau of Commerce to promote trade and investment between China and Nigeria, Dr. Evelyn Ngige, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment, who was represented by Mr. Suleman Audu, Director of Trade, said that Nigeria had finalized plans to strengthen the partnership. He iterated that Nigeria remains committed to providing a durable platform for collaboration and the mutual benefit of both nations.
Furthermore, to boost non-oil revenues and promote knowledge transfer between the two countries, Yakuzak, the chairman of NEPC, asked for a revision of the ban on importing particular Nigerian items from China. Among the items on China’s protocol lists are chili peppers, peanuts, and other products.
