NBS: Nigeria recorded N3.2 trillion trade surplus in six months

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says Nigeria recorded a N3.2 trillion trade surplus between January and June of 2022.

The bureau stated this in its recent report titled: ‘Foreign trade in goods statistics (Q2 2022)’.

In the first half of the year, Nigeria’s total exports stood at N14.5 trillion and total imports stood at N11.3 trillion, which gives a trade surplus of N3.2 trillion.

A trade surplus is an economic indicator of a positive trade balance in which the exports of a nation outweigh its imports.

In Q1 2022, Nigeria’s total trade stood at N13 trillion. This was higher than the value recorded in the fourth quarter of 2021 (N11.7 trillion) and the value recorded in the corresponding period of 2020, which stood at N7.69 trillion.

In Q2, the country’s total trade stood at N12.1 trillion, which was lower than the value recorded in Q1 2022, but sum the total trade for the first half of 2022 to N22.8 trillion.

According to the NBS Q1 report, the improvement in Nigeria’s merchandise trade was due to increases in crude oil export which stood at N5.62 trillion showing an increase of 31.66 percent compared to N4.27 trillion recorded in Q4 2021.

“Total Exports were N7.1 trillion of which re-exports stood at N115.80 billion, while total imports stood at N5.90 trillion,” the report reads.

“In the quarter under review, total exports increased by 23.13 percent when compared to the fourth quarter of 2021 (N5.77 trillion) and by 137.88 percent of the value recorded in the first quarter of 2021 (N2.98 trillion).

“On the other hand, total imports increased by 21.04 percent in the first quarter of 2022 when compared to the value recorded in the first quarter of 2021 (N4.88 trillion) and decreased by 0.67 percent when compared to the value recorded in the preceding quarter (N5.94 trillion).”

This resulted in a N1.19 trillion positive trade balance (surplus) in Q1 2022.

In Q2, the country’s exports stood at N7.4 trillion which is a 4.31 percent increase when compared to Q1 2022.

“The export trade in the quarter under review stood at N7.41 trillion showing a rise of 4.31 percent over the value recorded in the preceding quarter and also increased by 47.55 percent over the corresponding period of the preceding year,” the report reads.

“Furthermore, the share of exports in total trade stood at 57.68 percent in Q2, 2022.

“On the other hand, total imports were valued at N5.41 trillion in Q2, 2022 indicating a decrease of 7.89 percent over the value recorded in the preceding quarter.”

However, the value increased by 15.83 percent over what was recorded in the corresponding period of 2021. Imports’ value in the second quarter of 2022 accounted for 42.32 percent of total trade.

The balance of trade in Q2 2022 stood at N1.97 trillion.

A breakdown of the report shows that the majority of imported goods in the first half of 2022 originated from China with a value of N2.93 trillion, followed by the Netherlands with N1.05 trillion, Belgium (N1.03 trillion), India with N874.78 billion, and the United States (N700.25 billion).

Meanwhile, most goods were exported to India (2.28 trillion), Spain (N1.71 trillion), the Netherlands (N1.58 trillion), Indonesia (N1.1 trillion), and the United States (N1.03 trillion).