Dangote Fertiliser, Agribusinesses Power $120m of Nigeria’s Top Non-Oil Export Earnings

News in Brief:

— Dangote Fertiliser and other agricultural commodity exporters and processors generated about $120 million of the earnings recorded by Nigeria’s top 100 non-oil exporters in April 2026.

— The figures highlight the growing contribution of agriculture, agro-processing and industrial inputs to Nigeria’s foreign-exchange earnings.

Agriculture and agro-processing are taking a larger role in Nigeria’s non-oil export economy, with five companies generating about $120 million of the earnings recorded by the country’s top 100 non-oil exporters in April 2026.

Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that Dangote Fertiliser, Robust International Commodities, Tulip Cocoa Processing, Valency Agro Nigeria and Outspan Nigeria collectively accounted for 29.51 per cent of the earnings generated by the top 100 exporters during the month.

The figures point to the growing importance of agricultural commodities, processed agricultural products and fertiliser in Nigeria’s efforts to diversify export earnings beyond crude oil.

Non-Oil Export Earnings Rise to $960m

According to the CBN Economic Report for April 2026, Nigeria’s non-oil export earnings rose to $960 million, up from $770 million in the previous month.

The increase was driven largely by higher global commodity prices and improved receipts from products including cashew nuts and fertiliser.

Agricultural commodities dominated the leading export products.

Cashew nuts accounted for 21.25 per cent of non-oil export earnings, making them the largest contributor during the month. Urea followed with 14.15 per cent, while cocoa beans accounted for 10.46 per cent.

Other agricultural products contributed 8.33 per cent, sesame seeds accounted for 5.56 per cent and cocoa products contributed 4.92 per cent.

The export destinations also reflected the geographical spread of Nigeria’s non-oil trade. India accounted for 16.51 per cent of the top 10 destinations, followed by Vietnam with 10.96 per cent, the United States with 8.71 per cent, China with 8.48 per cent and Germany with 5.88 per cent.

Dangote Fertiliser Leads Top Exporters

Dangote Fertiliser recorded the largest share among the five companies, accounting for 14.15 per cent of the earnings generated by the CBN’s top 100 non-oil exporters.

Its performance reflects the increasing contribution of fertiliser to Nigeria’s export economy.

The company’s position also illustrates the growing role of industrial production in Nigeria’s export diversification efforts, alongside traditional agricultural commodities.

This is particularly relevant as Nigeria seeks to move beyond exporting primary commodities and increase the contribution of domestic manufacturing and processing to foreign-exchange earnings.

Commodity Traders Strengthen Export Earnings

Robust International Commodities ranked second among the five companies, accounting for 5.16 per cent of the earnings of the top 100 exporters.

Its export portfolio includes agricultural commodities such as cashew nuts and sesame seeds.

The company operates across agricultural commodity processing and trading, with products including rice, cashew, sesame, gum arabic, ginger and grains.

Its position in the CBN ranking highlights the scale of commodity trading companies' contributions to Nigeria’s export earnings when they aggregate products from domestic supply chains and connect them to international markets.

However, the model also remains exposed to challenges affecting agricultural exports, including inconsistent supply, logistics costs, quality requirements and access to working capital.

Cocoa Processing Adds Value to Exports

Tulip Cocoa Processing ranked third among the five companies, contributing 4.03 per cent of the earnings generated by the CBN’s top 100 non-oil exporters.

The Ogun State-based company processes cocoa beans into products including cocoa liquor, cocoa butter and cocoa cake.

Its position demonstrates the potential for processing to increase the value captured from Nigeria’s agricultural commodities before export.

Rather than exporting only raw cocoa beans, processing creates intermediate products that serve international cocoa and chocolate manufacturers.

The expansion of processing capacity is therefore an important part of Nigeria’s broader effort to increase the value of its agricultural exports.

However, exporters operating in the cocoa value chain are also facing increasingly stringent traceability requirements in major international markets.

The European Union’s deforestation regulations, for example, require cocoa entering the bloc to be traceable to its production plots.

For Nigerian processors and exporters, stronger farm mapping and supply chain traceability will increasingly become part of maintaining access to premium international markets.

Valency Combines Commodity Exports with Financing

Valency Agro Nigeria accounted for 3.17 per cent of the earnings generated by the CBN’s top 100 non-oil exporters.

The company exports agricultural commodities including cashew nuts, cocoa beans and sesame seeds.

Its operations also illustrate the importance of access to domestic capital for agricultural exporters seeking to expand processing and supply chain capacity.

Valency completed a ₦13 billion commercial paper issuance in 2025 under a ₦40 billion programme, reportedly oversubscribed.

The company has identified expansion of processing capacity for commodities including cashew, soybean, cocoa and sesame, as well as supply-chain infrastructure, as areas requiring investment.

Access to working capital is particularly important for agricultural exporters because businesses must purchase, aggregate, process, store and transport commodities before receiving payment from international buyers.

Outspan Reflects Continued Demand for Commodities

Outspan Nigeria completed the five-company group, contributing 3.01 per cent of the earnings recorded by the top 100 non-oil exporters.

Its contribution included exports of cotton lint and sesame seed.

Although the CBN's April ranking provides limited operational information on the company, its inclusion among the five largest contributors demonstrates the continued importance of agricultural commodities to Nigeria’s non-oil export receipts.

The performance of these companies comes against the backdrop of broader growth in Nigeria’s non-oil exports. Nigeria’s non-oil exports reached a record $6.1 billion in 2025, according to the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), rising from $5.46 billion in 2024.

The country exported 281 non-oil products to 120 countries during the year. The expansion shows that Nigerian businesses are reaching more international markets, but higher export earnings do not necessarily mean that the structural constraints affecting exporters have been resolved.

High logistics costs remain a significant challenge. Data cited in the 3T Impex Non-Oil Export Index Report 2026 showed that 77.7 per cent of surveyed exporters experienced increases in inland transportation and port-handling costs between 2021 and 2025.

For agricultural exporters, where commodities often travel from farms and aggregation centres to processing facilities, ports and international buyers, transport costs can significantly affect margins and competitiveness.

Processing Remains Critical to Export Growth

The composition of the April export data also reinforces the importance of processing.

Nigeria’s agricultural sector produces commodities with substantial international demand, but the country captures greater economic value when those commodities are processed domestically.

Cocoa processing, for example, allows exporters to sell intermediate products rather than raw beans. Fertiliser production similarly demonstrates how domestic industrial capacity can create exportable products while supporting agricultural production at home.

For Nigeria to sustain its non-oil export growth, the challenge is therefore not simply to increase the volume of commodities leaving the country.

It is to develop the infrastructure, financing, processing capacity, quality systems and logistics required to capture more value before products reach international markets.

The Federal Government has also increased its focus on export infrastructure, financing and market access.

The NEPCl received a capital allocation of ₦881.13 million under the 2026 Appropriation Bill for projects covering export infrastructure, certification, market access and value chain development.

The government also announced a $1 billion AfCFTA Adjustment Fund Credit Facility to support production, competitiveness and intra-African trade.

Such interventions are intended to help Nigerian businesses capitalise on growing regional and international market opportunities while addressing some of the financing and competitiveness constraints limiting exports.

However, exporters continue to face challenges involving documentation, certification, standards compliance and market access.

Agriculture Increasingly Shapes Nigeria’s Export Future

The April data provides a snapshot of a broader shift in Nigeria’s trade structure. These companies' performance suggests that agriculture is no longer simply a domestic food-security sector. It is becoming an increasingly important source of foreign exchange and a potential driver of Nigeria’s industrial and trade diversification.

The next challenge is to ensure that this growth becomes broader and more sustainable by lowering logistics costs, expanding domestic processing, improving export standards and traceability, strengthening access to finance and enabling more Nigerian businesses to compete in international markets.

For Nigeria, the opportunity is not only to export more agricultural commodities, but to build the processing and production systems that allow the country to earn more from every tonne it exports.