THE SUN

The Delta State Government has identified six sectors as areas of comparative advantage for export, particularly by micro, small and medium scale entrepreneurs.

The sectors include food and beverage; arts and craft; fashion and textile; media and entertainment; Information Communication Technology (ICT); and tourism.

The Executive Assistant to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa on Export Initiative and UNIDO, Mrs Shimite Bello, made this known to our correspondent in Asaba on the sidelines of an investment conference organised by the Anioma People Development Think Tank (APEDETT).

Mrs Bello described the areas as legacy sectors as the administration of Okowa preaches the stronger Delta mantra.

She said the state government has made things easier for potential exporters with the mandate to assist ‘entrepreneurs with documentation which is getting their export certificate, SMEDAN, SON approvals and the rest of it.

‘We help with training. We have an agreement with Nigerian Export-Import Bank for N1 billion to help exporters have access to funds to improve their production, branding, packaging and labelling.

‘We teach you more on how to improve your products in order to make the international market.’

According to her, the Okowa government has laid a solid foundation for the incoming administration to build on in terms of export.

‘The successive administration will now concretise it but we will definitely leave a guard for however that will take over this office because we cannot continue to rely on oil and gas.

‘The export office is about exporting non-oil products, and we have seen that palm oil is making more money than oil and gas; rice is making more money than oil and gas.

‘So we need to step up on our cassava, palm oil, aqua-culture and other sectors to see if each one can make more money than oil and gas. It is possible because other countries are doing it,’ she noted.