The Lilypond Export Command (LEXC) of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) recorded exports valued at $792.56 million in the second quarter of 2026, marking a significant increase over the same period last year.
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‎The Customs Area Controller, Samuel Ariyibi, disclosed this on Wednesday during a press briefing in Lagos. He said the figure represents an increase of $192.96 million from the $599.60 million recorded in the second quarter of 2025, reflecting a 32.18 per cent year-on-year growth in export value.
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‎According to Mr Ariyibi, the command also recorded improved export activity, processing 5,510 export containers during the quarter, compared to 3,732 containers in the corresponding period of 2025. The increase of 1,778 containers represents a 47.64 per cent rise in container throughput.
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‎He explained that exports handled by the command were grouped into four major categories: agricultural products, manufactured goods, solid minerals and other commodities.
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‎Agricultural products remained the highest export segment, generating $422.08 million, up from $369.84 million in the second quarter of 2025. Manufactured goods also posted a sharp increase, rising to $350.67 million from $120.30 million recorded during the same period last year. Mr Ariyibi said the improvement reflects Nigeria’s growing industrial capacity and efforts to diversify exports beyond crude oil.
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‎In contrast, exports of solid minerals dropped significantly to $7.17 million, down from $91.15 million a year earlier. He attributed the decline to the Federal Government’s policy encouraging local processing and value addition before mineral exports.
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‎The controller further revealed that under the Nigeria Export Supervision Scheme (NESS), the command generated N5.38 billion in the second quarter, representing an increase of N512.02 million over the N4.86 billion realised during the same period in 2025. However, revenue from export surcharge fell to N95.26 million, compared to N149.39 million recorded in the previous year.
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‎Mr Ariyibi noted that the command continues to maintain strong collaboration with relevant government agencies, including the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS), the Port Police and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), to facilitate seamless export operations.
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‎He commended the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, for providing the support and enabling environment that has strengthened trade facilitation, particularly in the non-oil export sector.
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‎The customs boss also urged exporters, freight forwarders and haulage operators to comply with existing regulations, stressing that ignorance of the law would not be accepted as an excuse. He encouraged stakeholders to take advantage of the command’s open-door policy and familiarise themselves with export prohibition guidelines to ensure lawful and efficient trade processing.