Dangote Fertiliser and four other companies captured nearly 30 per cent of the earnings of the top 100 non-oil exporters, according to an April report by the Central Bank of Nigeria. Agriculture and industry are gradually shaping Nigeria’s trade future, ARINZE NWAFOR reports

Nigeria’s non-oil export boom is increasingly being powered by fertiliser and agricultural commodities, with five companies generating $120m among the country’s top 100 non-oil exporters in April 2026.

The Central Bank of Nigeria’s latest breakdown puts Dangote Fertiliser, Robust International Commodities, Tulip Cocoa Processing, Valency Agro Nigeria and Outspan Nigeria at the centre of that performance, revealing the growing weight of industrial fertiliser and agro-processing in Nigeria’s foreign-exchange earnings.

Export earnings rise

According to the CBN Economic Report for April 2026, non-oil export earnings increased to $0.96bn in April from $0.77bn, driven largely by higher global commodity prices and improved receipts from cashew nuts and fertiliser.

India accounted for 16.51 per cent of Nigeria’s top 10 non-oil export 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.

Cashew nuts ranked as the largest non-oil export product, accounting for 21.25 per cent of earnings. 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 5.56 per cent and cocoa products 4.92 per cent.

The CBN said the five leading exporters earned $0.12bn, representing 29.51 per cent of the earnings recorded by the top 100 non-oil exporters.

Dangote Fertiliser accounted for 14.15 per cent, Robust International Commodities for 5.16 per cent, Tulip Cocoa Processing for 4.03 per cent, Valency Agro Nigeria for 3.17 per cent and Outspan Nigeria for 3.01 per cent.

The ranking is notable because four of the five companies are linked to agricultural commodities, while Dangote Fertiliser represents large-scale industrial production.

Dangote

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

The company’s export position reflects the broader rise of fertiliser in Nigeria’s non-oil trade. According to the CBN, urea accounted for 14.15 per cent of non-oil export earnings in April, making it the second-largest product after cashew nuts.

Bloomberg reported in January 2026 that Dangote Industries appointed MTN Group Chief Executive Officer Ralph Mupita to the board of Dangote Fertiliser. The report said the appointment came as the fertiliser business pursued expansion and considered a potential listing on the Nigerian Exchange. Bloomberg also quoted Dangote Fertiliser Managing Director Vishwajit Sinha on the appointment.

The report provides the latest independently published information supporting the company’s board development and expansion plans. The company’s position in the CBN ranking nevertheless demonstrates the importance of manufactured fertiliser to Nigeria’s export diversification drive.

Robust

Robust International Commodities ranked second among the five companies, with cashew nuts and sesame seeds accounting for 5.16 per cent of the earnings of the CBN’s top 100 exporters.

According to a March 2023 report by Coronation Merchant Bank, Robust operates in agricultural commodity processing and trading, with products including rice, cashew nuts, sesame seeds, gum arabic, ginger and grains.

The bank reported that Robust fully repaid a N4.026bn Series 1 commercial paper issued under its N20bn programme. The paper, which matured in January 2023, had been issued to support the company’s working-capital requirements.

FMDQ Exchange records further show that Robust issued a N1.88bn Series 6 commercial paper in April 2023 and a N1.25bn Series 7 issue in May 2023. It also issued a N2.56bn Series 14 paper in December 2023.

The CBN ranking now places Robust among the largest contributors to Nigeria’s non-oil export receipts.

Tulip

Tulip Cocoa Processing ranked third among the five exporters, with cocoa cake and cocoa butter accounting for 4.03 per cent of the earnings of the top 100 exporters.

According to the company’s current public profile, Tulip Cocoa Processing operates in Itamogiri, Ijebu-Imushin, Ogun State, where it converts cocoa beans into cocoa liquor, cocoa butter and cocoa cake.

Premium Times reported in May 2025 that Tulip had expanded its cocoa-grinding capacity from 12,000 tonnes to more than 30,000 tonnes annually, citing the Nigerian Export Promotion Council. The report identified Tulip as a major cocoa exporter and said the company operates from Ijebu-Mushin in Ogun State.

The company’s processing activity gives it a role beyond the export of raw cocoa beans. Its products are processed inputs for international cocoa and chocolate markets.

The company also faces the traceability challenge confronting Nigerian cocoa exporters.

An Associated Press investigation published in November 2023 identified Tulip Cocoa Processing among companies that purchased cocoa linked to farming in Nigeria’s protected Omo Forest Reserve. The investigation reported concerns over the traceability of cocoa moving through complex supply chains.

More recently, Reuters reported in August that Nigerian cocoa exporters were investing in farm mapping and traceability to comply with the European Union’s deforestation rules, which require cocoa entering the bloc to be traceable to its production plots.

That regulatory shift makes traceability increasingly important for companies such as Tulip that serve European markets.

Valency

Valency Agro Nigeria ranked fourth, with cashew nuts, cocoa beans and sesame seeds contributing 3.17 per cent of the earnings generated by the CBN’s top 100 exporters.

The company has also demonstrated its ability to raise capital from Nigeria’s financial markets.

The PUNCH reported in November 2025 that Valency Agro completed a N13bn commercial-paper issuance under its N40bn programme. The paper was 18 per cent oversubscribed, according to the company.

BusinessDay reported that the N13bn comprised Series 13 and 14 commercial papers and attracted strong participation from institutional investors.

The Guardian reported that the funds would support expansion in processing capacity for cashew, soybean, cocoa and sesame and strengthen supply-chain infrastructure.

Those reports establish Valency’s access to capital for expansion, while the CBN data provides evidence of its contribution to non-oil export earnings.

Outspan

Outspan Nigeria completed the CBN’s top five, with cotton lint and sesame seed accounting for 3.01 per cent of earnings among the top 100 non-oil exporters.

The CBN report does not provide further operational or management details on Outspan in the April ranking. The company’s inclusion in the CBN ranking, however, establishes its contribution to Nigeria’s April non-oil export earnings.

Bigger export market

The performance of the five companies comes as Nigeria’s overall non-oil export market expands. According to the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, Nigeria’s non-oil exports reached a record $6.1bn in 2025, an 11.5 per cent increase from the $5.46bn recorded in 2024. The council said the country exported 281 non-oil products to 120 countries during the year.

The PUNCH reported in August 2026, citing NEPC data, that Nigeria’s non-oil exports had risen from $2.97bn in 2013 to $6.1bn in 2025. The number of export markets increased from 93 to 210 over the same period, adding 117 markets to Nigeria’s export footprint.

The expansion has also exposed structural constraints. The PUNCH reported in May 2026, citing the 3T Impex Non-Oil Export Index Report 2026, that 77.7 per cent of surveyed exporters experienced higher inland transportation and port-handling costs between 2021 and 2025. The report analysed 87,824 export transactions and surveyed 94 active non-oil exporters.

The findings point to a central issue for the five companies: growing international demand does not automatically translate into higher competitiveness if the cost of moving goods from farms and factories to foreign markets continues to rise.

Policy support

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

The PUNCH reported in February 2026 that the Federal Government allocated N881.13m to capital projects of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council in the 2026 Appropriation Bill. The proposed spending covered areas including export infrastructure, certification, market access and value-chain development.

The Government also announced a $1bn AfCFTA Adjustment Fund Credit Facility in 2026 to support production, competitiveness and intra-African trade.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Jumoke Oduwole, said businesses still faced obstacles involving export documentation, certification, standards compliance and market access.

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria Export Group has similarly linked AfCFTA to new export opportunities. “New export frontiers have been created due to Nigeria’s participation in AfCFTA,” Executive Secretary of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria Export Group, Dr Ben Obhiosa, said.

Value beyond oil

The five companies illustrate the changing composition of Nigeria’s non-oil export economy. Dangote Fertiliser represents the growing contribution of manufactured fertiliser. Robust operates in agricultural commodity processing and trading. Tulip converts cocoa into semi-processed products, while Valency combines agricultural exports with access to domestic capital markets. Outspan’s place in the ranking reflects the continued importance of agricultural commodities.

Together, they accounted for $120m of earnings among the top 100 non-oil exporters in April, according to the CBN.

Their performance also fits the wider national trend. Nigeria earned a record $6.1bn from non-oil exports in 2025, according to the NEPC, while the number of markets served by exporters continued to expand.

The figures show that Nigeria has already developed companies capable of earning substantial foreign exchange from products outside crude oil.

The bigger challenge is sustaining that growth while lowering logistics costs, improving export compliance, expanding processing capacity and ensuring that more Nigerian companies can reach international markets.