ABUJA: Saudi Arabia has expressed interest in importing 200,000 tonnes of red meat and one million tonnes of soybeans annually from Nigeria, as the African country seeks trade to earn dollars, Nigerian Agriculture Minister Abubakar Kyari said on Thursday.

Kyari said Nigeria was seeking partnerships for trade to earn foreign exchange after it suffered severe dollar shortages which harmed its economy and caused the local naira currency to tumble to record lows.

Nigeria has been seeking to diversify its exports from the dominant oil and gas sectors to promote non-oil exports to hedge its economy from oil price shocks.

Saudi's interest came after the Kingdom's agriculture minister visited Nigeria and held meetings with the country's agribusiness entrepreneurs, Kyari told reporters in Abuja.

"Shortly thereafter, ... they sent an expression of interest. We have come out with the roadmap where we can supply and satisfy that demand," Kyari said. (Reporting by Felix Onuah Writing by Chijioke Ohuocha Editing by Chris Reese and Chizu Nomiyama)