Roland Iwuchukwu

Nigeria is set to commence export of soybeans and red meat in large quantities to Saudi Arabia.

Saudi officials have expressed interest in importing 200,000 tonnes of red meat and one million tonnes of soybeans annually from Nigeria, as the African country seeks trade to earn dollars, Nigeria’s Agriculture Minister Mohammad Abubakar said on Thursday.

Abubakar said Nigeria was seeking partnerships for trade to earn foreign exchange after it suffered severe dollar shortages which harmed its economy and caused the local naira currency to tumble to record lows.

Nigeria has been seeking to diversify its exports from the dominant oil and gas sectors to promote non-oil exports to hedge its economy from oil price shocks.

Saudi’s interest came after the Kingdom’s agriculture minister visited Nigeria and held meetings with the country’s agribusiness entrepreneurs, Abubakar told reporters in the capital Abuja.

“Shortly thereafter, they sent an expression of interest. We have come out with the roadmap where we can supply and satisfy that demand,” Abubakar said.