BY FAVOUR NNABUGWU

Nigerian non-oil export to Ghana increased by 38 per cent in 2011, says The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC).

Mr Aliyu Lawal, NEPC Director of Trade Information, in an interview with Vanguard in Abuja, said that Nigeria exported goods worth 113 million dollars (N17.52 billion) to Ghana in 2011, compared with 81.76 million dollars (N12.67 billion) in 2010.

According to Lawal, “the bulk of the exported products were cosmetics, footwear, textiles, confectionaries, insecticides, plastic (empty bottles), electric cables, food and beverages, including noodles.

The director, who described Ghana as one of Nigeria’s biggest markets in West Africa, noted that the export data covered only official transactions and registered businesses between the two countries.

“The figure only puts registered non-oil export transaction into account. So, officially, the volume is $113 million excluding unregistered businesses. This is because most of the transactions are not registered.

“If the unregistered transactions are included, then the volume should be more than double the official volume,” he said.

Lawal said that the feat was achieved through proactive trade policies and incentives for non-oil exports introduced by the Ministry of Trade and Investment.