Nigeria has been urged by the Federal Government to fully capitalise on China’s new zero-tariff policy for African goods. Officials stressed the need to shift away from exporting raw commodities and instead prioritise processed and value-added products.
The appeal was delivered in Abuja on Friday during a seminar examining China’s zero-tariff measures and their potential role in driving economic structural transformation across Africa.
According to Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security Aliyu Abdullahi, the policy offers Nigeria a major chance to broaden its export base, lessen reliance on crude oil, and speed up the growth of agro-industrial value chains.
“The question before us, therefore, is not, can Nigeria export more? The question should be, can Nigeria export better?” Abdullahi said.
According to him, Nigeria should focus on products such as processed cassava derivatives, premium rice, spices, hibiscus, cashew blends, soybean products, fruits and vegetables that can compete effectively in the international market.
“These are the questions that should define our national response,” he said.
The minister, however, warned that access to the Chinese market would not automatically translate into increased prosperity for Nigeria. He said the country must strengthen agricultural productivity, processing capacity, logistics, financing, storage and quality-control systems if local producers are to compete successfully.
“Zero tariffs alone do not guarantee success. Ladies and gentlemen, while the removal of tariffs creates opportunity, opportunities alone do not create prosperity,” he said.
Abdullahi also stressed the importance of export certification and compliance with sanitary and phytosanitary requirements, noting that Nigerian exporters would have to meet international standards to sustain access to the Chinese market.
He said the Federal Government was already expanding agricultural processing capacity through the Special Agro-Processing Zones Project, which is designed to encourage investment in processing agricultural commodities into higher-quality products for both local consumption and export.
The minister further said Nigeria’s abundant natural resources could only become a sustainable competitive advantage through technology transfer, skills development, research partnerships, modern logistics, digital agribusiness and stronger value chains.
China Records Stronger Trade With Africa
Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Yu Dunhai, said China’s zero-tariff policy had already generated measurable benefits for African economies and Nigeria since it came into effect on May 1, 2026.
Yu said China-Africa trade reached a record $207 billion in the first half of 2026, while Chinese imports from Africa between May and June amounted to $29 billion, representing a 24 per cent year-on-year increase.
He said Africa’s overall exports to China had risen by about six per cent since the implementation of the policy, with Nigeria recording particularly strong growth.
“Total bilateral trade reached $18 billion in the first half of the year, up 35 per cent year-on-year, while Chinese imports from Nigeria surged 80 per cent to $2.3 billion, with monthly growth exceeding 40 per cent in both May and June,” he said.
The ambassador said the policy had helped Nigerian exporters reduce trading costs while increasing trade volumes and creating opportunities for industrial transformation.
He cited sesame exports as one example, saying every 100 tonnes of sesame shipped to China saved exporters about $11,000 in costs. Nigeria’s annual export of 7,000 tonnes of cattle bone granules, he added, resulted in savings of nearly $450,000.
Yu also disclosed that a single shipment of 23,000 tonnes of Nigerian liquefied propane saved about $300,000 in taxes on the first day the zero-tariff policy took effect.
Despite the gains, he urged Nigeria to improve product quality, strengthen supply-chain reliability, expand local processing and deepen industrial differentiation.
He also called for stronger links between trade and long-term investment, as well as increased policy engagement with businesses to ensure that Nigerian companies could make sustained use of the expanded market access.
“China is ready to provide technical support for standardised production to help Nigerian products earn recognition and market share,” he said.
Yu further advocated an Agreement on Economic Partnership for Shared Development between Nigeria and China, saying such an arrangement could transform temporary tariff preferences into more institutionalised and long-term guarantees.
According to him, 38 African countries had already signed framework agreements with China to advance early-harvest negotiations.
FG: Natural Resources Must Become Basis for Industrialisation
Representing the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dunoma Ahmed, said Nigeria must use the new market opportunity to transition from exporting natural resources to exporting finished and semi-finished products.
Ahmed said preferential access to China would have limited impact on Africa’s economic transformation if countries continued to ship raw materials abroad while importing finished goods.
He noted that Nigeria was open to foreign investment but increasingly wanted investors to establish manufacturing facilities, develop industrial value chains and create employment opportunities instead of concentrating mainly on the extraction and export of raw materials.
“Our natural resources must become the starting point, not the end point, of economic activity,” Ahmed said.
He explained that crude oil should serve as the foundation for petrochemical and downstream industries, agricultural commodities should supply agro-processing and manufacturing industries, while solid minerals should support mineral processing and broader industrial production.
“In other words, we must transition from exporting resources to exporting value,” he said.
Ahmed urged Chinese and other international investors to establish factories, processing plants, technology centres and logistics networks in Nigeria, stressing that the country had the potential to become an important manufacturing and investment hub for the African continent.
Lawmakers Identify Infrastructure, Finance as Major Challenges
The Chairman of the House Committee on Nigeria-China Relations, Ja’afaru Yakubu, said China’s zero-tariff policy could help Nigeria diversify its exports, expand agricultural and resource-based processing, strengthen manufacturing and increase participation in global value chains.
He, however, identified inadequate infrastructure, inefficient logistics, limited access to finance, skills shortages, productive technology and regulatory requirements as some of the major obstacles that could limit Nigeria’s ability to exploit the opportunity.
Yakubu also appealed to the Chinese Embassy to address visa-related challenges facing Nigerian traders, particularly businesspeople from Kano and other parts of northern Nigeria.
He said easier movement for traders would help deepen commercial relations and facilitate increased trade between Nigeria and China.
Representing the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, a Director in the ministry, Samson Ebimaro, similarly stressed the need for Nigeria to strengthen domestic production and competitiveness.
He said China’s policy would improve access for African products, support export diversification and create new opportunities for Nigerian businesses operating in agriculture, agro-processing, solid minerals, manufacturing, leather and the creative industries.
“However, the benefits of preferential market access will depend on our ability to strengthen domestic production capacity and competitiveness,” Ebimaro said.
He called for increased investment in infrastructure, logistics, finance and technology transfer, while urging exporters to build the capacity required to comply with international quality and regulatory standards.
According to him, the initiative aligns with Nigeria’s broader efforts to diversify the economy, expand non-oil exports and strengthen domestic and regional value chains.
Experts Seek Stronger African Value Chains
The Director of the Centre for China Studies, Charles Onunaiju, described China’s zero-tariff policy as a starting point rather than an end point in Africa’s drive towards structural economic transformation.
Onunaiju said African countries must address domestic production constraints and take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area to develop stronger regional value chains.
He also called for the harmonisation of standards and increased investment in productive capacity so that African businesses could meet demand and compete effectively in the expanded Chinese market.
The seminar was organised by the Centre for China Studies in collaboration with the Chinese Embassy in Nigeria. It examined the implications of China’s zero-tariff treatment for African countries and explored practical strategies for ensuring that Nigeria and other African economies convert improved market access into greater production, investment, industrialisation and employment.
For Nigeria, speakers at the forum agreed that the central challenge is no longer simply gaining access to the Chinese market, but building the capacity to supply it with competitive products that carry more value than the raw commodities traditionally exported from the country.