The paper investigates the eAects of the trade and foreign exchange manage- ment policies of the structural adjustment programme (SAP) on the Nigerian agri- cultural export sector. Protection rates and the incidence parameter are used to evaluate the policy outcomes over the 1970-92 period. Our analysis indicates that the protection of import-competing sectors has not been eliminated and that it results in the taxation of all exportables, with the largest proportion of such taxes borne by agricultural export- ables. The inability of the SAP policy instruments to achieve their objectives was partly because of failure to maintain consistent policies and partly due to a weak approach to implementation of some policies. #1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.