The World Bank has called on the federal government to jerk up spending on growth in non-oil industries and infrastructure projects.

This, the global lender said, should help support the economy, which is expected to grow 6.2 percent in 2012.

Nigeria, Africa's biggest oil producer places over-bearing emphasies on oil sector, a decision that has grossly affected the non-oil sector.

Cocoa exports from Nigeria, the world's fourth-biggest producer, fell 35 percent in October, the Federal Produce Inspection Service said.

Shipments fell to 12,935 metric tons from 19,830 tons a year earlier, spokesman Adekunle Adebambo said by phone today from Lagos, the commercial capital. Total cocoa-bean exports in the first 10 months of last year rose 13 percent to 140,537.5 tons from 124,663 tons a year earlier, he said.

Nigeria's cocoa year is divided into two harvests. The main-crop harvest begins in October and ends in January, while the light-crop season, the smaller of the two, usually begins in March and ends in June.

The chocolate ingredient is Nigeria's second-biggest foreign-exchange earner after crude oil, according to government statistics. Only the Ivory Coast, Ghana and Indonesia produce more cocoa, according to the International Cocoa Organisation.

But the World bank boosted its growth forecast for Nigeria, second-largest economy in Africa ahead of that of South Africa, leading economy in the continent.

The global lender noted that the growth forecast for Nigeria, Africa 's biggest oil producer, will rise to 7.1 percent in 2011, from a previous estimate of 5.7 per cent.

The World Bank raised its forecast for economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa to 5.3 percent in 2011 as the global economy recovers and the outlook improves for oil producers such as Nigeria and Angola.

Growth in the world's poorest region will pick up from an estimated 4.7 per cent in 2010, the Washington-based lender said in its Global Economic Prospects report on its website today. On June 9, the Bank had forecast growth of 5.1 percent this year.

"Growth is expected to be driven by continued recovery in the global economy," the World Bank said. "Developments in domestic demand will continue to play a dominant role."

South Africa's economy, the biggest on the continent, will probably expand 3.5 percent this year and 4.1 percent in 2012 as the government steps up spending on infrastructure projects and consumer spending rebounds, the bank said.

Those are in line with forecasts published by the National Treasury on Oct. 27.

The rand's 12 percent surge against the dollar since June 1 is hindering exports, undermining growth in manufacturing, the World Bank said. The currency was trading at 6.8467 against the dollar as of 10:21 a.m. in Johannesburg from 6.8364 late yesterday.

"South Africa has been and is likely to continue to be affected by the appreciation of the rand," the bank said. Manufacturing "has become increasingly less competitive because of rand appreciation."
Angola, Sub-Saharan Africa's second-largest oil producer, will expand about 6.7 percent this year and 7.5 percent in 2012. Ghana , which began exporting oil for the first time this year, will have the fastest growth on the continent at 13.4 percent in 2011 and 10 percent in 2012, the World Bank said.

The outlook in Kenya , East Africa 's biggest economy, "remains favorable," with growth of 5.2 percent expected for this year and 5.5 percent in 2012, the bank said. While Kenya is benefiting from rising trade with the rest of the region, drought could damage agricultural output, derailing the growth outlook, the bank said.

The biggest risk to Africa 's growth prospects is another slump in the global economy as most countries on the continent have "depleted the fiscal space they had created during the pre-crisis period and have not had time to rebuild it," the World Bank said.

Fiscal austerity programs in Europe, which is Africa 's biggest trading partner, may hamper the growth outlook, it said.