United Kingdom Post-Brexit Agricultural Policy and Its Effects on Nigeria’s Sesame Seed Exports

This study examines how changes to United Kingdom agricultural import policy following Brexit have affected Nigeria's sesame seed export trade, with particular focus on producing states in Jigawa and Katsina in the North-West zone. Nigeria is one of the world's top sesame seed producers, and the UK has historically been a significant destination for Nigerian agricultural commodities. Brexit has introduced new UK-specific Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) standards and tariff schedules that diverge from EU norms, creating both uncertainty and adjustment costs for Nigerian agricultural exporters. This descriptive research draws on UK government trade statistics from 2021 to 2024, Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) export data, and secondary literature on post-Brexit UK-Africa trade relations. Semi-structured interviews with sesame exporters and commodity brokers in Kano, Katsina, and Jigawa inform the primary data component. The study investigates the degree to which UK post-Brexit agricultural standards have created new compliance demands, the adaptive responses of Nigerian exporters, and the potential for UK-Nigeria trade agreements to address emerging gaps. Findings are expected to contribute to undergraduate understanding of the downstream effects of European political changes on Nigerian agricultural commodity chains. Keywords: Brexit, UK agricultural policy, sesame seed exports, Jigawa, Nigeria-UK trade.