The
Federal Government earned N179.5bn ($1.136bn) revenue from the non-oil sector
in the first quarter of 2013, driven mainly by receipts from the industrial
sector, the Central Bank of Nigeria has said.
The
bank revealed this in its Economic Report for the first quarter of the year.
The
report noted that the $1.136bn, which represented an increase of 15.1 and 9.3
per cent over the preceding and corresponding quarter in 2012, respectively,
was driven largely by receipts from the industrial sector and manufactured
goods.
The
report stated, “Total non-oil export earnings by Nigerian exporters stood at
$1.136bn at the end of the review period. This indicated an increase of 15.1
and 9.3 per cent above the levels in the preceding quarter and the
corresponding quarter of 2012, respectively.
“The
development was attributed, largely, to the 66.9 and 70.3 per cent rise in
receipts from the industrial sector and manufactured products, respectively.”
It
added, “A breakdown of the proceeds in the review quarter showed that
industrial, manufactured, agricultural, minerals and food products earned
$634.2m, $322.6m, $89.9mn, $67.9m and $21.7m, respectively.
“The
shares of industrial, manufactured, agricultural and food products as well as
mineral and transport in non-oil export proceeds were 55.8, 28.4, 7.9, 6.0 and
1.9 per cent, respectively.”
Commenting
on the CBN report on Monday, the National President, Nigerian Association of
Small Scale Industrialists, Chief Chuku Wachuku, said it underscored the
importance of the manufacturing sector as the pivot for the transformation of
the country’s economy.
He
said, “The CBN’s report, which said that receipts from manufactured goods were
responsible for the significant increase recorded by the non-oil sector
in the first quarter of 2013 is a very good development for not only the
manufacturing sector in particular, but also for the economy in general.
“The
report underscores the importance of manufacturing as the major driver of job
creation and wealth generation globally.”
The
Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment recently kicked off the
implementation of the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan, based on areas where
the country currently has comparative and competitive advantage.
This,
according to the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun
Aganga, is part of efforts aimed at diversifying the nation’s economy by
increasing non-oil earnings and contributions to the country’s Gross Domestic
Product.
He
said, “Nigeria has huge human and natural resources that are yet to be fully
translated into wealth for our citizens. For decades, we have relied heavily on
the oil and gas sector, which obviously has generated a lot of revenue for the
federal and state governments, but is less inclusive.
“The
good news is that today, we have started reversing that process by focusing
more on diversifying the earnings base and deliberately positioning our
industries as key drivers of growth. We have started seeing some results.”
Aganga
added that the Federal Government was committed to partnering the state, local
governments and the Organised Private Sector on the provision of a sustainable
enabling environment to fast-track the growth and development of the nation’s
manufacturing sector in line with the goals of the NIRP.
Credits
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