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WHY NIGERIAN ENTREPRENEURS SHOULD INVEST IN AGRO EXPORT
INTRODUCTION
Businesses abound but one veritable business idea would be the export of agro products. Agro export industry is a huge industry globally and figures amount to value over billions of dollars in total verifiable transaction. On the national level, it is also a huge market with a total value of export amounting to 4.69 trillion Naira. According to the Nigeria Bureau of statistics, agricultural export continues to top the charts with positive trade balances and crops worth over 73 billion Naira sold in a single quarter of this year. Export trade is given high priority around the world because of its many benefits inclusive of employment generation, increased national income, improved International cooperation and revenue to the government.

REQUIREMENT
In one sense, you will need to develop the right level of commitment, resilience, knowledge and structure to succeed in export. But in a real sense, a new exporter is expected by law to form and register a company with the corporate affairs commission.
The process of forming a company begins with the identification of the name of a new company. An application is then made to CAC, the Federal Government body responsible for the registration of business names and companies, if the name is approved and other specified conditions fully met, a certificate of incorporation will be issued to you upon payment of a fee. The CAC registration confers legal status on your business and it is a requirement for all other business-related registrations.

To be able to export, you will require an export license. This involves registering with the Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC) which is responsible for the promotion of non- Oil export and help exporters in accessing export markets. Having met their requirements, a registration certificate is issued which qualifies you as an exporter in Nigeria and renewable every two years. The introduction of the E-Registration process has made all registrations a seamless process with reduced cost and time and convenience in real-time. Other certificates and forms you might want to know about which might be needed include sanitary and phytosanitary certificate from the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Services, NXP form for commercial banks, certificate of quality and fumigation from Federal Produce Inspection Service, Bill of Lading and Airway Bill from shipping company which is your evidence of carriage of goods.

These are basic requirements but know this about agro-export business, it is a sequential process. One process precedes the other and requires a lot of documentation and procedures. As a result, it is essential to acquire the necessary training. I strongly believe in the importance of training. Training should be specific, continuous and relevant. It should be acquired to solve the problem. It should make things happen and bring about changes to enable you equal to the challenges you will face in the agro-export business.

As a beginner, you will need some basic knowledge on how the export market works, documentation, Port procedures, guidelines, product sourcing, pricing etc. You choose your product interest, commodities you can easily access and made available to your buyers, in the right quality and quantity at a given time. You can decide to source your products from other sources or by producing yourself. Again, it has to be of acceptable quality in the target market. I have experiences of our products being rejected or destroyed in oversea countries due to poor quality and loosed packaging.

Now, I have this to tell you, your products should be adapted in term of quality, packaging and labelling only in line with the dictates of the target market. On the level of the small scale export, your packaging should be firm to withstand long-distance transport. Generally, the mode of shipment will determine the type of packaging to use. Packaging should take into consideration the customers requirement, international standards and regulations applicable in the target market.

OTHER REQUIREMENT
At the base, an Exporter needs to choose between exporting directly or through an intermediary. The choice of the distribution channel depends on the very nature of the market, skills and finance. To understand further, direct exporting involves advertising the products at the target market.

Surely, participation in international trade fairs and trade missions help access the market. You will do your due diligence by checking on the credibility of prospective buyers. On your part, sharp practices are not allowed. High-quality products attract high prices and in export, high-quality products and services will increase your chances of success. Also, branding gives product identity and recognition. A well-known brand wins customer loyalty and are hard to displace in the world market.

Furthermore, there is a vital part of export called desk research to establish the size of the population, growth rate, market entry strategies and distribution channels. You might choose to visit the target market to verify your desk research and undertake an assessment on the ground by known existence of products similar to yours, the value of the imports, import tariff, market requirements, per capita income, availability and cost of transport and contacts in the target market.

Next, develop an export marketing plan. In short, carrying out desk research is one thing but developing an export marketing plan is another thing of equal importance. The two steps are interdependent. In a sense, it is sequential but simultaneous in another sense. Both senses are right because you must carry out some research before you can develop your plan of action.

You do not need to be a giant manufacturer to venture into the agro-export trade. All you need is a market, the right information and to develop the intended skills. You will also need a product which can be adapted to meet the market standards and requirements, the right price to make your products competitive, financial and human resources to develop your export business. You will need an export promotion organization; a focused, dedicated and competent export promotion organization will provide you with the necessary market information and marketing skills that will give you a competitive edge in the world marketplace.

On the skill level, you must develop an integrated response of managerial and coordinated skills. This is not because it pays, but that export trade is a coordinated, stage to stage processes with an ultimate goal to satisfy the needs of your buyer in the oversea country. As an exporter, you must understand you play a vital role of a leader and a manager. Leaders are people who do the right thing; managers are people who do things right. You will lead people but you manage and control things. In export, you have to manage money, cost, information, time, structure, systems, processes, inventory, physical resources, tools, and facilities. Proper management of these resources will ensure your success because over time, you will develop some operating economics due to specialization of these processes enabling you to become and ultimately exceed the challenges in export business.

OPPORTUNITIES
Business opportunities in agro-export are boundless. It opens up a whole and new areas of expanding value chains with opportunities for a new exporter to start an income-earning business of his own. The agro-export business is a very lucrative endeavour anyone can be engaged due to the abundance of many products that can be exported from Nigeria to many countries across the world.

From the temperate regions of the East to the coastal areas of the south and the semi-arid regions of the North are arable land that produces export-ready crops each having its harvest season ensuring the availability all year round. I hope you know each crop has its season and agro-export is a seasonal business requiring one to understand the seasonal effect on commodity prices. Example, ginger is an exportable commodity, it’s planting season starts in June while harvest begins in November. Sesame seed is another fine export commodity, it’s planting period starts in August and harvesting begins from November to July of the following year. Like all other business, export trade is subject to the law of demand and supply. Increased supply of a commodity will reduce product prices but an increased demand with reduced supply will raise commodity prices.

Now, how do you find export opportunities? When you get involved in an export type of business, you will need to chase opportunities along the way. You pay attention to the trading process to break into new markets but you will need to cut cost doing this. Here, management will be your enabling art enabling you to save for serious investment. And even with good guidance, your perseverance will be valuable because it takes some time until you break into a new market with the perfect export products. If you follow the basic principle, I am sure you will break new ground in oversea countries, thus achieve a new level of financial success you could have only have imagined.

Finally, have an avid taste for information, check export statistics, choose your country of destination wisely, stay active online, talk to experts, evaluate your chances, have a good plan of action and create a bridge between your plan and success.

BUSINESS POTENTIAL
What is the business potential of agro-export trade? With cashew nut and in specific, the kernel in introspects, cashew kernel export is a promising market. According to recent statistics from NEPC, Germany, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Poland, France, Japan, United Arab Emirates, Canada, Lithuania and Ireland are the top ten markets with the largest untapped potential for Nigeria cashew kernel export. Vietnam is currently the largest export destination for Nigeria cashew kernels with average yearly exports of 3.4milliona dollars. It is also Nigeria’s largest competitor on a global scale. Poland is a small market for Nigeria but France is a new market.

For ginger, untapped markets exist in Netherland, United Kingdom, Pakistan, Japan, Bangladesh, Canada, Malaysia, Germany, UAE and Italy. Estimated untapped potential is largest in the Dutch market with 4.5 million dollars of additional export to be reached up till 2021. The Netherland and UK are very interesting. There is a lot of additional export potential there. Try to access new markets like Pakistan, Japan and Bangladesh. Also, keep trying to expand export in Germany and the UAE.

Sesame seeds also offer promising markets with Asian countries leading the pack. China, Japan, Korea Republic, Mexico, Poland, France, Lebanon, USA, Canada, and the United Kingdom are the real markets. A real market is a positive market with China, the largest estimated untapped potential for Nigeria with over 110 million dollars in value. Sesame seed exports from Nigeria offers plenty of room for growth with over 170 million dollars untapped potential for the ten interesting destinations. Finally, try to increase focus on emerging markets of South Korea, Mexico and Poland.


To Continue below........

Exporting from Nigeria is not as easy as you made it sound!

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Industries are springing up daily and the demand for these Agro products are always there. Our population is growing very fast, so production will always go on. The profit margin on the products is an average of 45%, doing that with the same fund three times in a year makes it very profitable.

How do u get one get customer.... i have never leave this country

There are countless of raw materials you can export from this country. In fact, it might really interest you to know that there are made in Nigeria goods that could be yielding enough foreign exchange to the country.

Exporting non oil products to other countries is not too difficult. All you need is to have a company that is export ready and adhere to the strict international standards guarding import and export.

nelsdavid:
How do u get one get customer.... i have never leave this country

You don't need to leave the country to do export. ICT has enabled and driven trade world over. You get clients or buyers from trade portals. You can reach me for more support.

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Yes, this business is profitable in terms of money and helps to build strong relationships with other countries and clients. One of the best things you can make with import/export business is the good profit margins to goods with the fewer investments.

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How to determine the Price of Your Product in Export

Once you have put everything in place, the next thing is to start selling your product. But before you do that, you need to determine how much you will be selling your product.

To arrive at the right price, you will need to

Take an inventory of all you had to do to get your product and the final shipping to the buyers and make a calculation. Make sure not to leave anything out of all you spent – all the export duties or even translation cost if you had to employ a translator – so you do not run at a loss.
You will then have to do a market research to see what price others are selling, what buyers are willing to pay and also the rate of demand. Sometimes, the demand might affect your price. A product on high demand will enjoy higher price than one without much market demand.
You might also have to match the prices of other sellers on the market if you have many competitors. This is because if you sell a lot higher than others, your buyers might walk considering they have many options.

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Available is bankable feasibility studies and financial analysis for the Agro export business in Nigeria

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Why Prepare A Feasibility Study Report?

Before you venture into any business, it is key you carry out an in-depth market research and then prepare a feasibility study report to help you minimize risks, while giving you an indepth knowledge of the industry you're venturing into.

Our market research and feasibility study report writing service is designed specially for importers & exporters to enable them succeed.

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What are the best products to export to the UK?