Nigeria recorded N23.2tn merchandise trade value from the first quarter to third quarter of 2020, says the National Bureau of Statistics.
According to its ‘Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics Q3, 2020,’ published on Monday, Q3 trade value stood at N8.37tn year-on-year.
The figure indicated an increase of 34.15 per cent relative to Q2 2020, but a decline of 8.85 per cent compared to Q3 2019.
The import component was valued at N5.38tn, an increase of 33.77 per cent, while export component accounted for N2.99tn or 34.85 per cent increase of the total trade in the review quarter.
It stated, “Due to lower exports and higher imports compared to 2019, the trade balance recorded a deficit of N2.38tn during the third quarter.
“This also represents the widest merchandise trade deficit since 2017. When compared to the deficit of N1.8tn recorded in Q2, the Q3 deficit rose by 32.45 per cent.”
Further analysis of the data showed that crude oil was valued at N2.42tn or 81.02 per cent of total exports, while non-crude oil was valued at N568.2bn or 18.98 per cent of total export during the period under review.
Categorising imported goods, the report revealed that imported agricultural goods increased in value by 21.13 per cent, raw material by 24.47 per cent, solid minerals by 21.57 per cent, manufactured goods by 23.18 per cent and energy goods by 53.69 per cent in Q3 2020.
On exports, agricultural goods dropped in value by 22.6 per cent, raw material declined by 24.6 per cent, manufactured goods decreased by 47.7 per cent, but solid minerals increased by 253 per cent in the review quarter.
Meanwhile, crude oil exports grew in value by 56 per cent in the review quarter relative to 35.3 per cent year-on-year in Q3 2019.
Also, energy goods increased in value by 3.9 per cent in Q3 compared to Q2, but decreased by 20 per cent year-on-year.
Further analysis showed that Nigeria’s imports by country of origin came mainly from China at a value of N1.64tn or 30.51 per cent, N482.3bn or 8.96 per cent from United States, N443.5bn or 8.24 per cent from the Netherlands and N354.1bn or 6.58 per cent from India.
On exports by country of destination, Nigeria exported goods valued at N500.6bn or 16.73 per cent to India, N328.5bn or 10.97 per cent to Spain, N227.8bn or 7.61 per cent to the Netherlands and N203.9bn or 6.81 per cent to South Africa.
By continent, Nigeria imported goods mainly from Asia, valued at N2.58tn.
Other major imports originated from Europe at N1.8tn while imports from America amounted to N746.4bn and Africa at N175.4bn.
The report added that imports from Oceania stood at N532.4bn while goods valued at N12.5bn originated from the Economic Community of West African States nations.
