The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has empowered 107 Adamawa State stakeholders with technical skills on oilseeds/oleaginous fruits to leverage opportunities in the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The theme of the engagement is “Achieving Product Competitiveness with Zero Export Rejection under the CEPA.”

The NEPC’s executive director/chief executive officer, Nonye Ayeni, represented by the Director, Product Development, Macpherson Fred-Ileogben, said the theme of the event was important.

He said, “Especially at this time, the world trade in agricultural produce/commodities has become highly competitive, fundamentally because of food safety considerations coupled with demands for global best practices.

“The CEPA between Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was signed on January 13, 2026. It aims at establishing a framework for reciprocal tariff elimination on goods traded between both countries.

“Transform economic ties between the nations, covering over 7,000 Nigerian products, providing immediate duty-free access for 2,805 agricultural goods like fish and seafood. Oil seeds, cotton, fruits, cereal, vegetables, leather and chemicals.”

According to her, Adamawa State in the North-East region remains a hub for seeds/oleaginous fruits such as cotton seeds, soybeans, groundnuts, sesame, sunflower, shea nuts and others.

Ms Ayeni added that this formed part of the state’s agricultural export and commercial strategy.

She assured that the council would continue to work with critical stakeholders to ensure economic diversification for a vibrant and sustainable economy to be seamlessly achieved.

The NEPC’s Regional Coordinator, North-East, Anani Egon, assured the beneficiaries that the council would remain committed to providing the necessary support, guidance and linkages to ensure the cluster became a model, not only in Adamawa State but across Nigeria.

He appreciated the Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, for providing the enabling environment and supporting efforts to promote sustainable export trade in the state.

The state Commissioner, Ministry for Commerce, Trade and Industry, Ishaya Dabari, represented by the Director of Commerce, Ahmed Hamma, commended the NEPC for the technical support for economic development of the state and country at large.

He urged the participants to actively participate and put the knowledge into practice toward achieving the objective of the programme.

In his remarks, the National President of the Sunflowers, Drawers, Processors and Marketers Association, Jibrin Bukar,  said he was one of the major producers of sunflowers in Nigeria.

He advised the producers to take advantage of the opportunity and understand that sunflower oil is rated the second best in terms of health benefits and the third most consumable food in the world after soya and palm.

(NAN)