High Costs, Cheap Imports Crippling Nigeria’s Manufacturing Competitiveness – Stakeholders

Nigeria’s non-oil export earnings rose to N3.73 trillion in the second quarter of 2026, but the increase has failed to translate into stronger manufacturing competitiveness, as high energy and logistics costs, expensive financing and cheap imports continue to undermine local producers.
Stakeholders said the country’s export growth remained largely driven by petroleum products and raw or semi-processed commodities, rather than manufactured goods capable of generating jobs, expanding industrial capacity and strengthening Nigeria’s position in global markets
According to the National Bureau of Statistics’ Q2 2026 Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics, total exports rose to N27.02 trillion du...