The Dala Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (DALCCIMA) is seeking to deepen Nigeria’s access to the Chinese agricultural commodities market as it leads a business delegation to the 2026 China International Sesame Autumn Conference and China International Peanut Conference in Qingdao, China.
According to information obtained by BusinessDay, Monday, the conference, holding from August 23 to 25, is bringing together players across the sesame and peanut value chains, including producers, processors, exporters, importers, buyers and other international trade stakeholders.
Uba Tanko Mijinyawa, president of DALCCIMA, is leading the Kano delegation to the conference, where he is expected to present a paper on the outlook for peanut cultivation and trade in Nigeria.
Musa Rabiu Muhammad, first deputy president of DALCCIMA, is among the members of the delegation participating in the international business gathering.
Hosted by the China Chamber of Commerce of Import and Export of Foodstuffs, Native Produce and Animal By-Products (CFNA), the conference provides a platform for Nigerian agricultural businesses to engage directly with major players in one of the world’s largest consumer markets for agricultural commodities.
For Nigeria, the significance of the conference goes beyond business networking. It offers an opportunity to strengthen the country’s non-oil export base and increase the inflow of foreign exchange through agricultural commodities, particularly sesame and groundnuts.
Nigeria has significant production capacity in several agricultural commodities, but weaknesses in processing, quality control, market access and value addition have often limited the country’s ability to capture the full economic value of its agricultural output.
The Qingdao conference could therefore provide an important avenue for Nigerian exporters to understand the specifications, quality requirements and market expectations of Chinese buyers while exploring partnerships that can move commodities beyond raw exports.
For Kano, the opportunity is particularly important because of the state’s position as one of northern Nigeria’s major agricultural production and trading centres. The state has extensive commercial networks linking farmers, aggregators, commodity traders and processors across the North.
By connecting these networks with international buyers and processors, the delegation hopes to expand the market available to Kano-based businesses and strengthen the state’s contribution to Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings.
A major focus of the delegation is expected to be value addition. Rather than relying mainly on the export of unprocessed agricultural commodities, Nigerian businesses can use international partnerships to gain access to modern processing technologies, including improved cleaning, sorting, grading, shelling and hulling systems.
Such investments could allow Nigerian exporters to supply higher-value products that command better prices in international markets.
The conference is also expected to expose participants to international standards and technologies required to improve the competitiveness of Nigerian sesame and peanut products.
Improved compliance with international quality standards could help Nigerian exporters build stronger relationships with overseas buyers, reduce rejection risks and develop more predictable export markets.
The Chinese market is particularly significant because of its large demand for agricultural commodities and its extensive food-processing industry. Increased access to the market could create new opportunities for Nigerian farmers and businesses if supported by reliable production, quality assurance, logistics and export systems.
For Nigeria’s foreign exchange position, greater agricultural exports could help broaden the sources of dollar earnings beyond crude oil and other traditional export activities.
The benefits could also extend beyond exporters. Increased demand for export-quality sesame and groundnuts could stimulate production among farmers, create opportunities for commodity aggregators, expand processing activities and generate additional employment across rural communities.
The participation of DALCCIMA also reflects a growing effort by private-sector organisations in Kano to position the state’s agricultural commodities within international supply chains.
The chamber has increasingly focused on connecting its members with financing, investment, trade and business development opportunities. In July, DALCCIMA also invited active exporters seeking working capital and expansion financing to engage with a development finance institution, highlighting the growing emphasis on strengthening the capacity of local businesses to participate in international trade.
Mijinyawa has previously stressed the need for stronger international economic partnerships involving Kano businesses, particularly in agro-processing and other productive sectors. In June, he said the chamber was interested in deepening economic relations with Saudi Arabia in areas including agro-processing, manufacturing, renewable energy and Islamic finance.
The Chamber’s participation in the Qingdao conference is therefore expected to complement its broader strategy of linking Kano businesses to international markets, investors and technology providers.
Beyond immediate commercial opportunities, the conference could also help Nigerian stakeholders identify areas where government policy, private investment and international partnerships need to converge to increase export competitiveness.
This includes improving agricultural production, establishing modern processing facilities, strengthening storage and transportation infrastructure and ensuring that exporters have access to the finance required to meet large international orders.
The success of the initiative, however, will depend on what happens after the conference. International contacts and agreements will need to translate into concrete transactions, investments, technology transfers and long-term supply arrangements.
For farmers and commodity traders in Kano, the most important outcome would be the creation of a stronger and more reliable export market capable of supporting higher production and better returns.
For Nigeria, sustained growth in sesame and peanut exports could contribute to a broader diversification of foreign exchange earnings at a time when the country continues to seek stronger non-oil revenue sources.
The Qingdao meeting could thus serve as more than an international trade conference for the DALCCIMA delegation. It represents an opportunity to connect Kano’s agricultural production base with global demand and to reposition sesame and groundnuts as important components of Nigeria’s non-oil export strategy.
If the relationships established in China result in increased orders, processing investments and technology partnerships, the impact could extend from Kano’s commodity markets to farmers, processors, exporters and ultimately the wider Nigerian economy.