NEPC, NBS sign MoU on cross-border informal trade data

The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) and Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to facilitate data collection from the informal trade across borders.

Executive Director of NEPC, Nonye Ayeni, said the MoU marked a major turning point in Nigeria’s quest to grow its exports through the capturing of data in the informal sector.

“Existing trade data primarily capture activities within the formal sector, offering limited visibility into informal export trade transactions, despite their significant volume and economic impact. In 2024, formal export trade records indicate that 7.291 million metric tons of non-oil products valued at $5.456 billion were exported from Nigeria. This figure excludes informal export trade data,” she said.

The NEPC boss, in a statement, said informal cross-border trade is not just a distant peripheral activity but real trade that fuels livelihoods, strengthens regional supply chains and contributes significantly to national and continental economic resilience.

“Informal export in millions of dollars in goods and services has remained largely outside our official records. Informal export trade data collected by the NEPC state offices at major corridors in Kano, Jigawa, Kebbi, Zamfara, Katsina, Sokoto, Lagos, Ogun, and Adamawa reveal transactions valued at over $31.8 million in some months of 2024,” she said.

According to her, reports from the National Onion Producers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria (NOPPMAN) also reveal that over 1.6 million bags of commodity were traded informally to neighbouring countries such as Ghana, Cote D Ivoire, Benin, Cameroon, Congo and Niger Republic.

Regrettably, she noted, the impressive achievements were not captured in the national export trade statistics, thus portending implications for economic planning for the country.

This, Ayeni noted, weakens Nigeria’s voice in regional and global trade negotiations and denies the informal traders the recognition and support they needed to thrive, as well as diminishes Nigeria’s economic potential.

Ayeni explained that the collaboration between the Council and the NBS was borne out of the desire to correct the imbalance and capture the full spectrum of Nigeria’s export trade.

On his part, the Statistician-General of the Federation, Adeyemi Adeniran, noted that the meeting of key players from national and sub-national agencies, regional institutions, international development partners and the organised private sector, reflects the strong spirit of collaboration required to address one of the most pressing challenges in Nigeria’s trade data architecture, capturing and integrating data from informal trade and trade in services into the national framework.