The Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, has  assured exporters that the Export Expansion Grant is not under threat of being stopped by the Federal Government.

The Export Expansion Grant is an initiative of the Federal Government, aimed at encouraging exporters of non-oil products, including agro-commodities as part of efforts to cushion the effects of infrastructural deficiencies, reduce overall unit cost of production and increase the competitiveness of Nigerian products in the international market. The grant usually ranges from 10 per cent to 30 per cent of the Freight On Board value of the products being exported and confirmation that the export proceeds have been repatriated.

He said that the Federal Government is committed to strengthening the processes and procedures involved in the implementation of the EEG in order to make it more beneficial to exporters as well as government.

Aganga noted that the Ministry of Trade and Investment was putting structures in place to ensure that the EEG was insulated from being abused in the future.

“The EEG is not under any threat. The Federal Government has no intention of terminating the EEG. Instead, what we are trying to do is to strengthen the processes and procedures involved in the implementation of the EEG to ensure that it becomes most beneficial to both the exporters and the government.

”We are putting structures in place to make sure that the EEG is not abused in the future.” The Minister disclosed that as part of its Industrial Revolution Plan, the Ministry of Trade and Investment would partner the Kano State Government on boosting capacity utilisation of industries in Kano State, especially in the textile, leather, agri-business and food processing sectors where the state had comparative and competitive advantage.

“Statistics have shown that the second largest non-oil export in Nigeria is leather, and Kano is the home of leather. So, Kano has contributed, and has continued to contribute significantly to the economy of our country. Beyond leather, Kano is known for textile and garment manufacturing, rice and tomatoes processing.