The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has announced that Nigeria achieved a trade surplus of N2.22 trillion during the first half of 2023, as revealed in its recent foreign trade report for Q2 2023.
For the first six months of the year, Nigeria’s exports amounted to N13.5 trillion, while total imports reached N11.3 trillion, resulting in a trade surplus of N2.22 trillion. This trade surplus signifies a positive economic balance, with exports surpassing imports.
In Q1 2023, total exports were valued at N6.49 trillion, and imports were N5.56 trillion, resulting in a total trade value of N12.05 trillion, which was notably higher than the N7.86 trillion recorded in Q1 2022.
In Q2 2023, Nigeria’s total trade amounted to N12.7 trillion, marking a 5.3 percent increase from the previous quarter. Exports in Q2 totaled N7.02 trillion, with imports at N5.73 trillion.
According to the report, “Total exports increased by 8.15% compared to the first quarter of 2023 but declined by 5.20% compared to the corresponding quarter in 2022.” Likewise, “total imports increased by 2.99% compared to the first quarter of 2023 but declined by 10.37% compared to the corresponding quarter of 2022.”
The NBS reported that the trade surplus for Q2 2023 amounted to N1.29 trillion.
The top five export destinations in Q2 2023 were the Netherlands (N788.85 billion), the United States of America (N718.63 billion), Indonesia (N550.18 billion), France (N540.73 billion), and Spain (N504.45 billion), collectively accounting for 44.23% of total exports.
The largest export category in Q2 2023 was ‘Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude’ (N5,586.29 billion), followed by ‘Natural gas, liquefied’ (N639.37 billion) and ‘Urea, whether or not in aqueous solution’ (N81.21 billion).
Regarding imports in Q2 2023, Nigeria’s top five partner countries were China (N1.3 trillion), the United States of America (N921.45 billion), Belgium (N460.43 billion), India (N417.77 billion), and The Netherlands (N369.69 billion), accounting for 60.05% of total imports.
The commodities with the highest import values were motor spirit ordinary (N1.23 trillion), used vehicles with diesel or semi-diesel engines of cylinder capacity >2500cc (N733.92 billion), and gas oil (N230.83 billion).
