Trade: Nigeria records N1.28trn surplus in Q2, 2023

Nigeria recorded a positive trade balance of N1.28 trillion in the second quarter of 2023, as total merchandise trade stood at ₦12,741.96 billion, the National Bureau of Statistics report reveals.

According to the foreign trade statistics released by the Bureau of Thursday, total exports stood at N7.01 trillion, an 8.15 per cent increase from N6.48 trillion recorded in the first quarter. Total imports amounted to N5.72 trillion, representing a 2.99 per cent increase compared to N5.55 trillion recorded in the first quarter of 2023.

Exports trade in the second quarter of 2023 was dominated by crude oil exports valued at ₦5.58 trillion, accounting for 79.63 per cent of total exports,, while non-crude oil exports value stood at ₦1.42 trillion or 20.37 per cent of total exports.

Exports by section revealed that Nigeria exported mainly ‘mineral products’, which amounted to ₦6.37 trillion, or 90.90 per cent of the total export value; followed by ‘Vegetable products’, which were valued at ₦217.13 billion and ‘Base metals and articles of base metals’ worth ₦128.32 billion.

Read also NACCIMA, others join Tinubu to seek trade increase between Nigeria, India

Exports trade by region in Q2, 2023 shows that Nigeria exported most products to Europe with goods valued at ₦3.160 trillion followed by exports to Asia valued at ₦1.728 trillion. Exports to America was valued at₦1.372 trillion, while export to other African countries stood at ₦747.84 billion of which ₦425.74 billion worth of goods were exported to ECOWAS countries.

The export destination during the quarter under review shows that Netherlands recorded the highest value at ₦788.85 billion representing 11.24 percent of total exports. This was followed by the United States of America with ₦718.63 billion, Indonesia with ₦550.18 billion, France with ₦540.73 billion and Spain with ₦504.45 billion.

Also, the top-ranked group import was machinery and transport equipment valued at ₦1.98 trillion (34.67 percent of total imports), this was followed by mineral fuels valued at 1.65 trillion and food and live animals valued at ₦662.38 billion.

The report showed that Nigeria imported goods mainly from Asia, valued at ₦2.31 trillion or 40.40 percent of total imports. This was followed by Europe with ₦1.966 trillion, America with ₦1.193 trillion, Africa at ₦237.33 billion and Oceania with ₦16 billion.

“Imports from ECOWAS countries accounted for ₦52.01 billion or 0.91 percent of the value of total imports.

“By country of origin, imported goods originated mainly from China and were valued at ₦1.226 trillion, representing 22.17 percent of of total imports. This was followed by the United States with ₦921.45 billion (16.09 percent of total imports), Belgium with ₦460.43 billion, India with goods imported valued at ₦417.77 billion, and the Netherlands with ₦369.69 billion,” it stated.

Read also Nigeria-Japan bilateral trade hits $10bn annually

The value of total trade in agricultural goods in Q2, 2023 stood at ₦735.72 billion of which exports were valued at N280.87 billion.

“Exports of agricultural goods marginally increased by 0.44 percent over the value recorded in Q1 2023 (₦279.64 billion) and showed a sharp increase of 98.12 percent when compared to the value recorded in Q2, 2022 (₦141.77 billion) respectively.

“During this quarter, most agricultural products were exported to Asia, valued at ₦202.61 billion, followed by Europe with ₦55.52 billion. Export of agricultural products was dominated by ‘Cashew nuts Shelled’ valued at ₦57.79 billion followed by ‘Cashew nuts in shell,’ with ₦55.02 billion and ‘Sesamum seeds’ with ₦38.32 billion.

“By direction of trade, ‘Cashew nuts Shelled’ worth ₦52.53 billion and ₦4.05 billion were exported to Vietnam and India, respectively. Furthermore, ‘Cashew nuts in shell’ worth₦34.72 billion and ₦18.83 billion were exported to Vietnam and India respectively, followed by exports of ‘Sesamum seeds’ worth ₦13.39 billion and ₦5.50 billion to Japan and China, respectively.

On the other hand, total imports of agricultural goods stood at ₦454.85 billion. This is a decrease of 3.51 percent when compared to the value recorded in Q1, 2023 (₦471.39 billion) and by 2.07 percent when compared to ₦464.45 billion recorded in Q2, 2022.

The major agriculture goods imported in Q2, 2023 included ‘Durum wheat (not in seeds)’ from Poland with ₦44.80 billion and Lithuania with ₦41.63billion. This was followed by ‘Fractions of Palm oil and its fractions, not fit for human consumption from Malaysia valued at ₦19.60 billion.