Foreign trade decreases 17.5% YoY
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Nigeria did N12.05 trillion foreign trade in the first quarter of 2023 (Q1 2023), a 17.5 per cent drop year-on-year (YoY) from N14.6 trillion in Q1 2022. But it rose 2.8 per cent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) from N11.72 trillion in Q4 2022.
YoY decline was caused in part by slow economic activities caused by the severe cash crunch that impacted all sectors of the economy in Q1 2023.
The figures are contained in the latest foreign trade report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Petrol worth N5.15 trillion was imported in Q1 2023, accounting for 79.4 per cent of total imports.
Total imports amounted to N5.56 trillion in Q1 2023, versus N5.36 trillion (Q4 2022) and N7.49 trillion (Q1 2022).
Export increased 2 per cent to N6.49 trillion Q1 2023 from N6.36 trillion in Q4 2022 but declined 8.7 per cent from N7.1 trillion in Q1 2022.
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Trade balance of N927.2b
The figures translate to a trade balance of N927.2 billion in Q1 2023 from N996.8 billion in Q4 2022 and a negative balance of N393.6 billion in Q1 2022, according to Nairametrics reporting.
Nigeria recorded its second consecutive positive trade balance in Q1 2023, after multiple foreign trade deficits in the recent past, an improvement partly attributed to higher crude oil production.
The NBS disclosed Nigeria had average daily oil production of 1.51 million barrels per day (mbpd) in Q1 2023, higher than 1.49 mbpd in Q1 2022.
Top 5 export destinations in Q1 2023
- The Netherlands – N837.65 billion (12.91 per cent of total)
- The United States – N579.35 billion (8.93 per cent)
- Spain – N488.17 billion (7.53 per cent)
- France – N487.34 billion (7.51 per cent)
- India – N456.69 billion (7.04 per cent)
Exports to the top five countries amounted to 43.92 per cent of total export value.
“Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude with N5.14 trillion representing 79.37% remains the commodity with the largest export values in the period under review, followed by ‘Natural gas, liquefied’ with N622.36 billion accounting for 9.59%, and ‘Urea, whether or not in aqueous solution’ with N146.79 billion or 2.26% of total exports,” the NBS said.
Top 5 origins of imports in Q1 2023
- China
- The Netherlands
- Belgium
- India
- The US
“The values of imports from the top five countries amounted to N3.1 trillion representing a share of 55.78% of the total value of imports.
“The commodities with the largest values of imported products were ‘Motor Spirit Ordinary’ (N1.49 trillion or 26.84%), ‘Gas Oil’ (N472.4 billion or 8.50% and ‘Durum Wheat (Not in seeds)’ (N249.22 billion or 4.48%).”