Nigeria’s non-oil sector is growing with N261.92 billion earnings in the second quarter of the year from agric exports, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Audu Ogbeh has said.

Ogbeh spoke at official unveiling of the Nigeria Agribusiness Resource Centre for Agricultural Investment at the weekend in Abuja.

He said agricultural export increased by 82 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2016 and earnings from the sector stood at about N30 billion in the first quarter of the year.

According to the minister, the country earned N3.7 billion from export of sesame seed to Turkey, N1.6 billion to China and N1.6 billion to Canada.

Ogbeh, who was represented by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Bukar Alhassan, said in the first quarter, N3.4 billion was made on Soya bean export to Russia, N1.2 billion to Greece, N2.2 billion was earned from the export of frozen Shrimps to Netherlands, N1.8 billion made from cashew nuts export to Vietnam and crude palm kernel oil export to The Netherlands netted N1.2 billion.

The minister listed destinations of agricultural exports in the second quarter as including to Asia, Europe, America, Africa and the Oceanic.

He said the country earned N13.5 billion from cashew nuts export to Vietnam with N12.6 billion, India (N1.4 billion) and Kazakhstan (N6.34 million).

African Lead Regional Director Carla Denizard said the resource centre was established in response to the request by the ministry’s Department of Agriculture and Marketing to bridge the knowledge gap in the sector and enable investors have access to information.