The Invisible Commodity: Why Charcoal Is Not On Nigeria’s Economic Map

When the federal government at the 2025 Forest Economy Summit announced plans to unlock $2 billion from Nigeria’s forest economy, it sounded like progress. The Vice President, Kashim Shettima, called for urgent action, warning that over 90% of our original forest cover is gone.

Yet, I believe there is a contradiction at the heart of this initiative: while preaching a sustainable forest economy, the same government is quietly placing restrictions on charcoal export , a forest product that can yield more export potential. It’s like discovering treasure but blocking the path leads to it. We can’t talk “trees into trillions” and sideline the one product most tied to them.”

Yes, the federal government lifted the charcoal export ban in mid‑2023, but it was conditional not a full repeal. Customs released Circular No. 8 directing that all charcoal exports now require approval letters from the Ministry of Finance and identification support from forest officers at ports. If exporters fail these conditions or if Nigeria misses the EU’s December 2025 deadline for non-deforestation sourcing it could mean another full ban. In other words, it’s not freedom, it’s regulation by exclusion.

Charcoal, though seen as controversial, is a biofuel, an export asset, and a rural livelihood. In a nation grappling with climate change, there’s a clear paradox: Nigeria’s forests are disappearing, and yet a key product, charcoal, remains invisible in our national policy. By refusing to give charcoal a formal commodity status, we are missing an opportunity to regulate its production, create an export framework, and establish price benchmarks. Our forest cover continues to shrink, a direct result of decades of unsustainable practices and the complete absence of a regulatory framework for products like charcoal. I think we need to move from damage control to sustainability. That means supporting solutions like afforestation, reforestation, and creating policies that recognize forest-based livelihoods and not erase them. Because when we ignore the systems that keep rural communities alive, we lose more than trees; we lose people too.

“I see the shift from seeing forest products like charcoal as threats, to treating them as assets, managed responsibly, regulated wisely, and integrated into a greener economy that works for everyone, especially the next generation as strategic and forward thinking.”

Charcoal Is Powering Other Economies; Why Not Ours?

Take Namibia, a nation with about 3 million people and a semi-arid landscape that has managed to turn its natural resources into a significant economic asset. In 2023 alone Namibia exported 270,000 tonnes of charcoal worth $80.5 million. Now, consider Nigeria; with a far larger population and more extensive forests, our official data for the same year shows we exported just 443 tonnes that year; valued at $119,470. About $54,000 of that went to the UAE; the rest to Europe in small amounts. Let that sink in: a country six times smaller than Nigeria is earning hundreds of times more from a single forest product.

This isn’t a problem of production; it’s a stark illustration of a crippling policy gap.

Nigeria has significantly higher reserves, better climatic advantage, and international demand especially from UAE, EU, and parts of Asia. Yet we don’t regulate it, don’t protect it, and don’t price it. We are not just missing out, we are watching income leak away through informal channels and black-market trading.

The UAE, for instance, only allows a handful of natural exports from Nigeria. Charcoal is one of them, yet due to weak documentation systems, we have many undocumented charcoal shipments. While our neighbours formalize the trade, we let our own operate in disguise.

According to industry research, the global charcoal market is expected to reach $11.4 billion by 2030. Nigeria loses over 99% of potential revenue because there is no official export policy or commodity designation for charcoal.

This policy vacuum has a domino effect where Producers are vulnerable to exploitation and underpricing. No tax income is generated from a booming informal export sector. No climate finance or carbon credits are accessible because the industry isn’t tracked. Local communities suffer, even though over 70% of charcoal collectors are women and youth, especially in the north-central and southwest regions.

Rather than impose tighter restrictions, I believe Nigeria must formally recognize charcoal as a valuable commodity, a key driver in the government’s $2–3 billion forest economy agenda.

The Federal Government’s recent forest economy summit signals renewed interest in land use and non-oil income. But unless charcoal is brought into that conversation as a registered, regulated, and priced commodity, it becomes counterproductive.We’re producing the resource, but our policy gap is killing its potential. We need to do better.

The solution is not to prohibit, but to formalize. I propose that we recognize charcoal as a legal commodity in our trade and forest policies. We must establish clear export frameworks with sustainability protocols to meet global demand, and empower local producer cooperatives with training and market access. To attract climate finance, we should also implement digital monitoring to regulate harvesting.

Charcoal is more than fuel; it’s a source of revenue, jobs, and foreign exchange. As the world moves toward sustainable biomass, the answer isn’t restriction, it’s smart regulation. It’s time to build a smart and sustainable policy.

~ Akarah is CEO/Founder, Bricks to Crib Group of Companies.