Nigeria is eyeing a huge chunk of the global services exports estimated at $1.99 trillion at the end of the third quarter of last year.
Leading exporters in the third quarter of last year included China, India, Singapore, Germany, Turkey, Thailand, Philippines, Mexico and Brazil.
The value of services exports during April-February 2022-23 was $296.94 billion, up 30.5 per cent yearly, while imports were up 24.5per cent at $164 billion.
Dr. Obiora Madu, director -general the African Centre for Supply’s said the expansion of the services sector is a vital driver of trade, employment, and economic growth and that it is essential to the economy’s competitiveness.
Madu, the author of “Services Export in Practice,” pointed out that there was a great deal of room for service trade to expand and promote growth in Nigeria.
His words:
“Services such as financial services, consulting and transportation will remain significant contribution to the Least developed countries are increasingly planning to improve their roles in services.
“Investments in sectors such as information technology, telecoms, financial services and professional services sector can contribute to Nigeria’s services export growth. I believe the growth of the Nigerian services export potential will be influenced by domestic reforms.’’
He said:
“It is aimed at diversifying the economy from oil dependence, and will also depend on improving the infrastructure regulatory environment and the ease of doing business to enhance Nigeria’s competitiveness in the next five years.’’
He pointed out that Nigeria would not be able to make use of its comparative edge in many services industries without a comprehensive export policy.
Madu added that “this will result in mixed opportunities. It will impact on the ability of the country to grow the economy and create the necessary jobs and generate revenue.”
The strategy, according to him, should be to focus on identifying key services sectors with export potential, addressing trade barriers and also enhancing competitiveness.
“This is key. The other thing that I recommend is the investment in infrastructure and technology. This will go a long way.”
He stated that in the face of ongoing uncertainties in global trade and economy, it was imperative that Nigeria’s exports be made more appealing.
He also stated that geopolitical tensions pose downside risks to growth through supply chain interruptions and increased logistical costs.
He emphasised how critical and essential it was to figure out how to make the country’s exports more appealing and competitive.
Although, he acknowledged that the existence of inadequate infrastructure, bureaucratic red tape, security worries, and unstable macroeconomic conditions may impede the country’s progress.
He placed a strong focus on capacity building programmes meant to introduce more Nigerians to the prospects in services exports.
In his view, it was imperative to bring together the government and private sector to enact policies that would increase the competitiveness of the country’s services industry.
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