Nigeria struggling to reduce oil dominance in exports, Q3 data show  

Nigeria is continuing to struggle in its attempt to reduce the dominance of oil and gas exports in its total foreign trade volume and value, latest data have shown.

But Nigeria’s export trade was mainly dominated by crude oil and gas, at N4,026.18 billion, representing  78.47 percent of total export; and natural gas (liquefied) worth N487.49 billion, or 9.50 percent of total export in the third quarter, respectively.

The latest foreign trade report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), titled ‘Foreign trade in goods statistics (Q1 – Q3 2021)’, showed that in the last quarter, Nigeria imported goods worth N8.2 trillion, while value of exports stood at N5.1 trillion, leading to a total trade of N13.28 trillion compared to N12.08 trillion recorded in the previous quarter.

Simon Harry, statistician general of the federation, said the deficit was majorly due to an increase in import cost of refined petroleum, which rose to N1.1 trillion from N782.46 billion, covering 12.91 percent of total export.

Other imported goods with high valuations included, durum wheat valued at 315.17billion, representing 3.87 percent of total export; gas oil worth N225.63 billion, representing 2.77 percent of total imports; and used vehicles valued at N185.41 billion, or 2.27 percent of total exports.

On the other hand, Nigeria’s export trade was mainly dominated by crude oil, which stood at N4,026.18 billion, representing  78.47 percent of total export in the third quarter. This was followed by natural gas (liquefied) worth N487.49 billion, 9.50 percent of total export, floating or submersible drilling platforms worth N163.70 billion, 3.19 percent of total trade, and urea, whether or not in aqueous solution, valued at N107.17 billion or 2.08 percent of total export value.

Comparing Q3 2021 to Q2 2021, the statistician general said total trade grew by 10.43 percent from N12,029.64 billion recorded previously. He also disclosed that  export trade grew by 1.00 percent from N5,078.44 billion; while import trade climbed 17.32 percent from N6,950.21 billion, depicting a trade deficit of 61.62 percent from N1,870.77 billion recorded in the second quarter of 2021.

In terms of trading partners during the period, China emerged Nigeria’s leading import partner, accounting for N2.44 trillion of the country’s total imports. It was followed by India, the United States, Netherlands, and Belgium, accounting for N710.35 billion, N599.12 billion, N554.23 billion and N434.12 billion of Nigeria’s total imports, respectively.

India was Nigeria’s leading export buyer for the period as N758.1 billion worth of goods were exported into the South Asian country. Spain, Italy, France and Netherlands emerged as the top five export destinations, accounting for N627.01 billion, N446.04 billion, N363.23 billion, and N363.23 billion of total exports, respectively.