…As State Designs Google Form to Identify Potential Exporters
The Ekiti State Government has reiterated its commitment to strengthening non-oil export promotion through the identification of potential exporters, improved certification, access to finance and the development of a standard export hub.
The Permanent Secretary of the State Ministry of Trade, Industry, Investment and Cooperatives, and Chairman of the Ekiti State Committee on Export Promotion (EKSCEP), Pharm. Bunmi Ejimokun, disclosed this at the Committee’s Second Quarterly Meeting held at the Ministry of Health Data Bank, Ado-Ekiti, on Wednesday.
Ejimokun said the state government had designed a Google Form to identify and document potential exporters and export-ready businesses, noting that the initiative would enable the government to identify those requiring support and subsidise relevant export development activities.
He encouraged farmers, processors, entrepreneurs and other individuals or companies interested in export to register through the official form at: Click here for Google Form for proper documentation and access to further benefits.
The Permanent Secretary emphasised the need to raise the state’s export certification standards, stressing that products intended for the international market must meet required benchmarks.
He also disclosed that the Committee would undertake a study visit to export-processing facilities in states such as Lagos to learn from their experience and apply relevant lessons to Ekiti’s proposed export hub.
According to Ejimokun, the proposed hub would be a standard facility capable of supporting export activities and attracting investors to the state. He added that Access Bank was ready to finance interested exporters, and urged prospective beneficiaries of export-related loans to carry the Ministry along.
The Permanent Secretary stressed that the export initiative must be sustainable, noting that the state needed investors who would contribute to the development of its export value chain. He also announced plans to map export-ready cocoa producers and identify reliable buyers, saying the exercise would help connect producers with markets and strengthen the state’s cocoa export potential.
Ejimokun called for practical, result-oriented deliberations, urging members to ensure that recommendations from the Committee’s meetings were translated into concrete action.
Earlier, the Director of Export at the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Investment and Cooperatives, Mrs. Deborah Aje, presented a report on export promotion activities carried out during the second quarter, including export development and capacity-building efforts. She tasked Committee members to generate ideas and recommendations to further advance export promotion in the state.
In his contribution, the representative of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Mr. Joseph Akhilomeh, urged the state government to partner with the Federal Government to establish an export processing zone that would give greater visibility to the proposed export hub.
He noted that states such as Calabar and Lagos were already benefiting from export-processing initiatives, adding that an export processing zone could accommodate several small and medium enterprises and support their growth.
Akhilomeh said SON was planning to train miners in Ijero to make their products more viable for the international market, and called for the identification and mobilisation of genuine farmers ready to participate in the export agenda. He added that SON was prepared to train farmers on certification requirements covering products, services and processing.
He stressed the importance of the SONCAP certification scheme, noting that new exporters needed to understand its requirements to export successfully, and highlighted the relevance of SONXCAP certification for products within an approved export processing zone.
The SON representative urged the Committee to sensitise potential exporters on applicable certification requirements and other conditions necessary for accessing international markets.
As part of the resolutions reached at the meeting, a sub-committee on cocoa export was constituted, chaired by the Director of Produce, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Mr. Samuel Oguntuase.
The sub-committee is expected to mobilise and encourage people to register as exporters, develop the cocoa value chain in the state, and identify potential exporters, with a report due back to the Committee within one month.
The meeting was attended by Mr. Olayinka Oderinde of the Ekiti State Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (EKICCIMA); Mr. Joseph Akhilomeh of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON); Mr. Adewale Ogunbodunrin of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC); Mr. Abiodun Ayedun of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN); Mr. Samuel Oguntuase of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security; and Mrs. Ogunyemi Abigael of First Bank of Nigeria Limited.
Others in attendance included Mr. A. Adeyemi of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC); Mrs. Oladapo Oni of the Ministry of Mineral Resources; Otunba Tosin Anifowose of the Youth Cooperating Out of Poverty Organization; Mr. Toyin Fatukesi of Ekiti Central Multipurpose Union Limited; Mr. Olaiya Sunday of the Palm Oil Association; and directors from the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Investment and Cooperatives, among other stakeholders in the export value chain.