Onome Amuge
The National Bureau of Statistics has reported that Nigeria’s total merchandise trade, impacted by a decline in export trade,fell 9.68 percent in the third quarter of 2022 to stand at N11,597.93 billion, compared to N12,841.54 billion recorded in the second quarter of 2022.
The NBS report titled “Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics Report for Q3 2022,” however, noted that the figure was higher than the value recorded in Q3 2021 which stood at N10,472.42 billion, indicating an increase of 10.75 per cent year-on-year.
A breakdown of the report showed that Nigeria’s total exports stood at N5,933.63 billion of which re-exports were valued at N25.04 billion, while total imports stood at N5,664.30 billion.
In the third quarter of 2022, total exports dropped by 19.89 per cent at N5,933.63 billion when compared to the second quarter of 2022 at N7,406.53 billion. However, total exports were up 15.52 per cent compared to N5,136.56 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2021.
According to the NBS, the value of export trade in Q2 2022 was dominated by crude oil exports valued at N4,658.30 billion which accounted for 78.51 per cent of total exports. On the other hand, non-crude oil exports value stood at N1,275.33 billion representing 21.49 per cent of total exports of which non-oil products contributed N438.00 billion representing 7.38 per cent of total exports.
The report further stated that total imports increased by 4.22 per cent in Q3 2022 at N5,664.30 billion when compared to the value recorded in Q2 2022 at N5,435.01 billion. Total imports in the third quarter of 2022 also increased by 6.16 per cent when compared to N5,335.86 billion posted in the corresponding period of 2021.
There was also an increase in the value of re-exports in the third quarter of the year which stood at N25.04 billion, marking a 160.16 per cent quarter-on-quarter increase. However re-exports were down 86.07 per cent year-on-year compared to N179.81 billion recorded in Q3 2021.
The report disclosed that the top five re-export destinations in Q3 2022, were Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, the UK, China and The Netherlands.
It also noted that the most re-exported commodities were “vessels and other floating structures for breaking up’ valued at N8,046.60 billion. This was followed by floating or submersible drilling or production platforms worth N4,966.63 billion, while aeroplanes and other aircraft, of an unladen weight exceeding 15,000 kg were valued at N3,434.73 billion,”
