Nigeria recorded N1.2 trillion trade surplus in Q1 2022, says NBS

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has disclosed that Nigeria recorded N1.2 trillion trade surplus in the first three months of 2022.

This was made known by the bureau in its recent report titled: ‘Foreign trade in goods statistics (Q1 2022)’.

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

In the first quarter of 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 2021, which stood at N7.86 trillion.

According to the report, the improvement in Nigeria’s merchandise trade was due to increases in crude oil export in the quarter under review 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).

A breakdown of the report shows that the majority of imported goods in Q1 2022 originated from China with a value of N1.51 trillion, followed by the Netherlands with N618.72 billion, Belgium (N563.25 billion), India with N415.57 billion, and the United States (N337.33).

Meanwhile, most goods were exported to India (1.18 trillion), Spain (N677.69 billion), the Netherlands (N660.59 billion), Indonesia (N474.41 billion), and the United States (N372.73 billion).