Nigeria made strong progress in reducing its reliance on oil in 2025, with non-oil exports rising to ₦12.36 trillion from ₦9.09 trillion in 2024, according to PM News citing National Bureau of Statistics data. The figures underline how central farming has become to the country's drive to earn foreign exchange beyond crude.
Agriculture Carries the Load
Agricultural products made up 41.04 per cent of total non-oil exports, with cocoa the biggest single contributor at 24.61 per cent, followed by cashew and sesame, the PM News report showed. Export volumes also grew, with Nigerian Export Promotion Council data putting non-oil shipments at 8.02 million metric tonnes in 2025, up 10 per cent from 7.29 million tonnes the previous year. Soya bean exports were the notable exception, falling sharply in 2025 on lower domestic production and stiff competition abroad.
A Cocoa Price Windfall
Cocoa's outsized share reflects a global price rally as much as volume. Prices climbed from about $4,200 per tonne in early 2023 to nearly $12,000 per tonne by late 2024, driven by supply disruptions among the largest producers, according to the International Cocoa Organisation as reported by Food Business MEA. That surge lifted Nigerian cocoa earnings to multi-year highs even as output stayed broadly flat.
Concentration Is the Risk
The same data carries a warning, since Nigeria still leans heavily on a handful of commodities, leaving export earnings exposed to swings in world prices, the PM News analysis noted. The Netherlands remains the dominant destination for Nigerian cocoa beans, anchoring a trade that is lucrative but narrow, according to Trade World News.
Export strength in cash crops and price relief at the market stall do not always move together. FoodPrices Nigeria tracks verified retail prices across Lagos markets, the domestic side of a food economy whose export story is increasingly written in cocoa.