Before the discovery of oil in 1970, Nigeria was the main exporter of palm oil and peanuts. Today, the main agricultural exports are as follows: Cocoa Rubber Peanuts Palm Oil Yams Today, Nigeria gets most of its money from exporting petroleum, which infiltrates quite a lot of cash into the economy. The picture to the side is of some Nigerians exporting bags of rice, which are also important exporting products.