In line with the federal government\u2019s diversification initiative, the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) is working to export cashew nuts directly from the South-East.
The Executive Director of the council, Mr Olusegun Awolowo, said on Thursday in Enugu at a workshop organised for stakeholders in the cashew value chain.
Awolowo, who was represented by the South-East Regional Coordinator of the council, Mr Arnold Jackson, said NEPC had developed what it called \u201cZero-Oil Plan\u201d, an initiative for boosting foreign exchange earnings through the non-oil export sector.
He said the initiative had set a long term goal of earning 20 per cent of Nigeria\u2019s Gross Domestic Product from non-oil exports.
\u201cThe initial target is to exceed US$30 billion in non-oil exports over the next 10 years, add extra US$150 billion to Nigeria\u2019s foreign reserves and lift at least 20 million Nigerians out of poverty,\u201d he said.
Awolowo said the council also had the \u2018One-State One-Product\u2019 programme, which was developed to ensure that each state focused on at least one product to develop for export.
He said that under the programme, Enugu State indicated cashew and palm oil as its main and alternate products.
The NEPC boss said that cashew remained an important agricultural commodity in the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n