Nigeria's non-oil export is expected to reach 10 percent by 2007 as against the present 3 percent, the official News Agency of Nigeria reported Wednesday.

G.M. Sasore, special adviser to President Olusegun Obasanjo on Export Programs, was quoted as saying that Nigeria had the capacity to export a wide range of products to highly demanding markets in Europe, Far East and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), including leather, textiles and agro- allied products.

Sasore, who is also chief executive of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, said Nigeria had made a remarkable increase in its non-oil export in the last three years, describing the development as "encouraging."

According to I. O. Dada, national president of the Nigerian- American Chamber of Commerce, the Nigerian government should provide an enabling environment for the nation's entrepreneurs, especially those in the areas of micro-credit and infrastructure, to expand their export trade.

While banning import of many products that can be made locally, he added, the government should also improve investment climate to attract foreign investors and businessmen. In recent years, Nigeria has banned importation of a variety of goods which can be made at home. In 2004 alone, it banned import of 41 commodities such as textiles, leather shoes and slippers.

Source: Xinhua