Nigeria’s total trade volume expands to N72trn in 2023

Business a.m

Nigeria’s total trade volume  saw a significant increase from N52.38 trillion in 2022 to N71.88 trillion in 2023, marking a 37.2 percent rise, according to a new foreign trade report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). This is as exports grew marginally to N35.96 trillion, while imports stood at N35.92 trillion.

The NBS report noted a significant increase in total exports in Q4 2023, rising by 22.68 percent quarter-on-quarter from N10.35 trillion in Q3 2023 to N12.71 trillion in Q4 2023. Compared to the same period in 2022, total exports increased by 99.60 percent, from N6.36 trillion to N12.71 trillion.

The NBS report revealed that total imports increased by 56.04 percent compared to the previous quarter and by 163.08 percent compared to the same quarter in 2022. This increase is reflected in the Q4 2023 total import value of N14.08 trillion, up from N9.041 trillion in Q3 2023 and N5.362 trillion in Q4 2022.

Re-exports accounted for 0.40 percent of total exports in Q4 2023, with a value of N50.91 billion. Of the re-exported commodities, the top five destinations were Malaysia, Cameroon, Italy, Ghana, and the Netherlands. The most re-exported commodity was ‘Vessels and other floating structures for breaking up,’ valued at N13.67 billion, followed by ‘Mechanically propelled vessels for the transport of goods, gross tonnage (500 tonnes),’ valued at N6.76 billion.

Other significant commodities included ‘Other machinery of heading 84.30, not self-propelled,’ valued at N6.26 billion, ‘Tugs and pusher craft,’ valued at N4.54 billion, and ‘Artificial filament tow of cellulose acetate,’ valued at N2.42 billion.

A deeper analysis of the trade data shows that the top five export destinations for Q4 2023 were the Netherlands, India, Spain, Canada, and France. These countries accounted for a significant portion of Nigeria’s total exports, with the Netherlands receiving the largest share at 15.05 per cent, followed by India at 8.68 per cent, Spain at 8.11 per cent, Canada at 7.15 per cent, and France at 6.30 per cent. The top five countries represented a total of 45.29 per cent of all exports during the period under review.

Nigeria’s largest export product during the fourth quarter of 2023 was petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude, which accounted for 81.23 per cent of total exports and had a value of N10,310.70 billion. This was followed by natural gas, which accounted for 8.00 per cent of total exports and had a value of N1,015.84 billion. Urea, whether or not in aqueous solution, was the third-largest exported product, accounting for 1.98 per cent of total exports and with a value of N251.90 billion.

For imports, consisting of cost, insurance and freight (CIF), the top five trading partners for Nigeria were Singapore, China, Belgium, India, and the United States. Singapore accounted for the largest share of imports at 36.09 per cent, followed by China at 14.61 per cent, Belgium at 8.09 per cent, India at 6.44 per cent, and the United States at 3.64 per cent. These five countries accounted for 68.86 per cent of the total value of imports.

Of the top five imported commodities in Q4 2023, tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, motorised, wheeled ranked first, with a value of N5,061.25 billion or 35.87 per cent. This was followed by motor spirit, ordinary, at N1,807.48 billion (12.81%) and gas oil, at N1,196.26 billion (8.48%). These three commodities made up 56.16 per cent of all imports.