By Faridat Salifu
Nigeria’s agricultural export earnings took a sharp step back in the second quarter of 2026, falling well below both the previous quarter and the same period last year.
Figures from the National Bureau of Statistics show the top 10 agricultural export products generated a combined N747.54 billion in Q2, down 34.8 percent from N1.15 trillion in Q1 and down 39 percent from Q2 2025.
The most dramatic story in the data isn’t the overall decline, though, it’s what happened inside the cocoa category.
Superior quality cocoa beans led all Nigerian agricultural exports in Q1 2026 at N596.90 billion, then collapsed to just N58.82 billion in Q2, a drop of more than 90 percent.
Standard quality cocoa beans moved in almost the opposite direction, rising from a mere N2.40 billion in Q1 to N154.31 billion in Q2, an increase north of 6,000 percent.
That reversal alone reshuffled Nigeria’s entire export ranking, pushing standard quality beans into second place overall while superior quality beans slid to fourth.
Cashew nuts in shell held onto the top spot throughout the volatility, generating N268.62 billion in Q2, even though that figure marked a 23.8 percent decline from the N352.67 billion the product earned in Q2 2025.
Sesame seeds rounded out the top three at N96.03 billion, down 37.6 percent from Q1 but still up 23.1 percent compared to the same quarter last year.
Three cocoa categories together, standard beans, superior beans and natural cocoa butter, generated N240.73 billion in Q2, less than half the N590.56 billion those same categories produced in Q2 2025.
Soybean products offered a steadier counterweight, with soya beans excluding seeds, soybean flour and meal, and soybean seed together contributing N98.07 billion.
Combined with cashew, soybean and cashew products accounted for N366.69 billion, nearly half of everything generated by the top 10 products.
That concentration cuts both ways for Nigeria’s export earnings.
The top three products alone, cashew, standard cocoa beans and sesame, made up 69.4 percent of total value from the top 10, meaning a shift in demand or pricing for any one of them could move the entire export picture.
The scale of movement between Q1 and Q2, particularly within cocoa, points to how quickly Nigeria’s agricultural trade mix can shift from one quarter to the next.
Analysts reading the numbers say the swings reinforce a familiar argument: exporters who lean too heavily on a small handful of commodities remain exposed to volatility that diversification could help absorb.
Source :Nairametrics
