The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has called for an end to the export of raw non-metallic minerals, urging stakeholders to prioritise value addition, local processing and quality certification to enhance Nigeria’s competitiveness in the global market and boost non-oil export earnings.

The call was made at a stakeholders’ workshop on “Positioning Nigerian Non-Metallic Minerals for the Global Market” held in Enugu, where government officials, industry experts and exporters examined strategies for unlocking the country’s vast solid minerals potential through beneficiation and industrial processing.

Declaring the workshop open on behalf of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Trade, Investment and Industry, Mrs. Tochi Ozulu urged participants to develop practical solutions that would strengthen the solid minerals value chain, attract greater investment and expand Nigeria’s export capacity.

In her keynote address, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the NEPC, Mrs. Nonye Ayeni, said Nigeria could no longer rely on exporting raw minerals if it hoped to maximise the economic value of the sector.

Represented by the Council’s South-East Regional Coordinator, Mr. Mustapha Umar Faruk, Ayeni said the country must shift from exporting unprocessed minerals to producing value-added products that meet international standards.

“We cannot double our exports by exporting raw, unprocessed minerals in the same manner we have done for decades. We must add value. We must meet international specifications. We must build the institutional and industrial capacity to process our kaolin, barite, limestone and gypsum into the finished and semi-finished products that the global market demands,” she said.

Ayeni noted that Nigeria is richly endowed with strategic non-metallic minerals, including limestone, gypsum, kaolin, bentonite, phosphate, graphite, marble, sulphur, fluorite and mica, adding that growing interest from international investors and mining companies presents a major opportunity to expand non-oil export earnings.

She said the sector occupies a central place in the council’s #DoubleYourExport campaign, stressing that achieving higher export revenues would require sustained investment in value addition, formalisation of mining activities, processing clusters and export readiness.

The NEPC chief also expressed concern over the rejection of Nigerian mineral exports in international markets, attributing the trend to poor quality standards and failure to comply with global certification requirements.

“We need to significantly reduce the incidence of export rejects experienced by Nigerian solid minerals in foreign markets. Our minerals must meet international specifications and certification requirements to increase both the volume and value of export earnings,” she said.

Ayeni encouraged stakeholders in Enugu State and across the South-East to embrace the NEPC’s One State One Product (OSOP) initiative, describing it as a strategic framework for identifying globally competitive mineral products, strengthening mining cooperatives and expanding access to international markets.

In the first technical presentation, Mrs. Chika Okany of the NEPC said Nigeria possesses more than 44 mineral types, with seven priority non-metallic minerals offering significant export opportunities due to rising global demand from the construction, ceramics, glass, cosmetics, energy and jewellery industries.

However, she identified the continued export of raw minerals, inadequate processing facilities, weak quality assurance systems, poor documentation, high logistics costs, limited access to finance and inadequate market intelligence as major challenges undermining the country’s competitiveness.

Okany recommended increased investment in mineral beneficiation, geological mapping, export certification, financing and stronger collaboration among agencies responsible for export promotion and industrial development.

She disclosed that under the One State One Product initiative, Enugu State has identified coal as its flagship export product and limestone as its alternative mineral resource, while other states are selecting export products based on their comparative advantages.

Presenting the second technical paper, titled “Driving Export Growth through Value Addition in Nigeria’s Non-Metallic Minerals Sector,” Engr. Odel Benjamin of the Enugu State Ministry of Solid Minerals Development said Nigeria could substantially increase export earnings by processing minerals into finished and semi-finished products before export.

He noted that converting limestone into cement, kaolin into ceramics, silica sand into glass products and gypsum into building materials would generate more employment, strengthen domestic industries and significantly raise the value of Nigeria’s mineral exports.

Benjamin also called for the establishment of more beneficiation plants, improved infrastructure, increased private sector investment, technical skills development and stronger international partnerships to reposition Nigeria as a leading exporter of value-added mineral products.

Participants at the workshop agreed that expanding local processing capacity, enforcing international quality standards and strengthening public-private collaboration would increase foreign exchange earnings, accelerate industrialisation, create jobs and advance Nigeria’s economic diversification agenda.