Abdulwahab Isa 
The Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has revealed that over 1.6 million bags of onions are informally traded to neighbouring countries annually without being reflected in Nigeria’s official export statistics.
This revelation was made on Wednesday by the Executive Director/CEO of NEPC, Nonye Ayeni, during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between NEPC and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The agreement aims to establish a framework for capturing data from Nigeria’s vast informal cross-border trade sector.
According to Ayeni, the figure, cited from the National Onion Producers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria (NOPPMAN), reflects onion exports to countries including Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Cameroon, Congo, and Niger Republic—none of which are captured in formal trade records.
“Informal export trade, representing millions of dollars in goods and services, remains largely outside our official records,” Ayeni stated.
“This weakens Nigeria’s voice in regional and global trade negotiations, denies recognition and support to informal traders, and diminishes our national economic potential—especially the vital contributions of women, youth, and MSMEs.”
In 2024 alone, Nigeria formally recorded the export of 7.291 million metric tons of non-oil products valued at $5.456 billion.
However, Ayeni noted that these figures exclude a significant volume of trade that occurs outside the formal system.
Data collected by NEPC offices from trade corridors in states such as Kano, Jigawa, Kebbi, Zamfara, Katsina, Sokoto, Lagos, Ogun, and Adamawa showed informal trade transactions valued at over $31.8 million in some months of the year.
She emphasized that informal cross-border trade is not a marginal activity, but a key component of regional commerce that sustains livelihoods, strengthens supply chains, and enhances economic resilience.
In his remarks, the Statistician General of the Federation, Adeyemi Adeniran, described the partnership as a strategic response to one of the most persistent challenges in Nigeria’s trade data architecture: the exclusion of informal and service trade from official statistics.
“Traditional trade measurement systems have focused primarily on large-scale, formal transactions, overlooking the vibrancy of informal trade routes,” Adeniran said.
“This data gap impedes evidence-based policymaking, weakens our position in trade negotiations, and skews macroeconomic indicators.”
He cited studies showing that informal trade accounts for 20 to 40 percent of intra-African trade, with Nigeria playing a substantial role due to its extensive and porous borders.
The collaboration, Adeniran added, is a timely intervention that will strengthen institutional capacities, foster regulatory coherence, and position Nigeria as a regional leader in trade data collection.
“Capturing informal trade data will not only improve the accuracy of our economic statistics but also support smarter border policies, enhance food security, facilitate SME development, and monitor regional integration efforts,” he stated.
Both agencies reaffirmed their commitment to building a more inclusive, evidence-driven trade system that reflects the full scope of Nigeria’s economic activity.
