Posted by From Etim Imisim in Abuja on
Trade transaction between Nigeria and the People's Republic of China in 2004 was over $2 billion.
Trade transaction between Nigeria and the People's Republic of China in 2004 was over $2 billion.
A breakdown of the trade figure showed that total Chinese imports from Nigeria was $1.42 billion while Nigerian exports to the Asian country was $458 million. The figure for the Nigerian export, however, was for the non-oil sector only.
Prince Badeji Abikoye, Nigeria's trade commissioner in Shanghai, China, revealed this yesterday when a Chinese trade delegation visited Commerce Minister, Ambassador Idris Waziri, in his office in Abuja.
Abikoye said that trade between the two countries traditionally involved trade surplus in favour of China, but for the first time, Nigeria recorded a favourable trade with the Asian country in 2004.
According to him, trade prospect between the two countries remained high for 2005, especially with growing requests from China in the solid mineral sector and agricultural sector in Nigeria particularly cassava products and cocoa beans.
Ambassador Waziri, who received officials of Genertec International, said that the improved term of trade for Nigeria came as a result of the export drive of his ministry. Nigeria could capture the large Chinese market, he added, but that "the problem is our capacity."
The minister, who is the chairman of the Presidential Committee on Cassava Initiative, said that cassava products will earn more for Nigeria than oil when Nigerians learned to take full advantage of the massive potentials of the growing sector. Mr. Elvis Emechetta, the president of the Nigeria-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, represented the private sector at the forum.
The leader of the Chinese delegation, Mr. Luo Ming, suggested that Nigerian exports should be of the right standard. He noted that cocoa beans from Ghana were of the right standard, adding the export of cocoa beans is being dominated by European businessmen and that the Chinese would like to trade directly with Nigerians.
Last week, Waziri took the Chinese businessmen on a tour of cocoa farms and facilities in the south west. The Chinese are also into large-scale farming and the procurement of machinery. Genertec the biggest exporter of cocoa beans in China being privatised, was on a two-week exploratory visit to Nigeria.
Apart from cassava, the company interested in other agricultural produce such as cocoa beans, soya beans and sesame seeds.