Cotton Export from Nigeria Explained: Prices, Process and Value

Cotton once anchored a large northern textile industry, and remains a crop with export potential and a direct link to local fabric. Lint and seed sell in dollars, tying growers’ income to the naira via the exchange rate — and to the cost of fabric.

From farm to export

• Farming and harvest — grown across the north.
• Ginning — lint separated from seed.
• Use and export — lint to mills or abroad in dollars.

Why dollars matter to farmers

Reviving the cotton-to-textile chain would capture value locally and cut imported-fabric exposure — the same import-cost logic behind fabric prices. Cotton prices are dollar-set, so the exchange rate runs through grower earnings.