By Daniel GUMM
FOR the nation to boost its export potentials, the  Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has been urged to create a new additional criterion weight of 40 per cent Export Expansion Grant (EEG) for goods manufactured with over 65 per cent local content in order to encourage additional investment.

This is the general view of participants, who attended the just-ended three-day conference on Nigerian Non-oil Export, Exhibition and Awards (NNECA) in Abuja, even as they called on NEPC to re-design the EEG to be more efficient, especially in administration and coverage.

The participants also urged the export promotion agency to   develop and implement the new Nigerian Non-oil Export Development Strategy, to ensure consistency and called on states in the federation to have their own export development agencies to grow non–oil exports in the nation.

Besides, the participants noted that the Federal Government should support NEXPOTRADE Houses Limited and other non-oil Export Trade Support Institutions (TSIs) as vehicles for export promotion and development as well as the EEG Secretariat of the NEPC should be adequately funded by the Federal Ministry of Finance as promised when the guidelines for the re-designed schemes were released.
They also recommended the following amongst others:

*There should be joint quarterly monitoring committee on EEG between NEPC and the Organised Private Sector (OPS) for Quarterly Review and Evaluation of the Scheme.

*The Export Development Fund should be reactivated and reviewed to reflect the present realities in order to encourage the SMEs.

*Government should fast-track the establishment of the ‘One Window Concept’ to aid trade facilitation and information dissemination.

*Export is a professional activity.  Conference therefore recommends that the position of Commercial Counsellors must be properly advertised, with a view to appropriate staffing.
*Nigeria should declare an export decade to properly strategise for the development of its non-oil export sector.

*That Nigeria is more than ripe for the establishment of a Nigerian Trade and Competitiveness Commission and therefore call for its immediate establishment.

*That a non-oil export forum chaired by Mr. President be created to hold quarterly to drive non-oil export development.

*That NNECEA be institutionalised and given the maximum support by both the government and private sector authorities to ensure its sustenance.

*Since the key policy challenge facing Nigeria in respect of the debate regarding the relationship between trade and economic growth is not necessarily one of liberalisation, but how to extract from its participation in the international trading system, the country must emphasise those elements that would promote economic development, taking into account the peculiar circumstances of its national economy.

*There is need for attitudinal change and provision of adequate security and constant power supply in Nigeria to promote tourism, as well as harnessing more opportunities in tourism exports.