International trading for the first quarter of 2021 (Q1) ended on a negative note as Nigeria recorded N3.94 trillion trade.
A report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), “Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics (Q1 2021),” revealed that the country’s total merchandise trade stood at N9.76 trillion, an increase of 6.99 per cent over the value recorded in Q4, 2020 and 14.13 per cent compared to Q1, 2020.
According to the report, Asia, led by China, dominated the foreign trade in the first quarter. The region’s importation dominated foreign importation to the country with a record of N3.3 trillion,
representing 48.45 per cent.
Asia is followed by Europe with N2.4 trillion, representing 36.08 per cent, America N827.8 billion (12.08 per cent), while imports from Africa nations stood at N183.4billion (2.68 percent), and Oceania N48.5billion (0.71 per cent).
A further breakdown shows that most imported goods into the country in the first quarter of 2021 were from China. These goods were valued at over N2 trillion, or 29.34 per cent. The country was followed by the Netherlands (N726.09 billion or 10.60 %) and the United States (N608.12 or 8.88%).
The report further showed that out of the value recorded for Africa, import from ECOWAS countries accounted for only N20.8 billion.
“The export component of this trade stood at N2.9 trillion, representing 29.79 percent of the total trade while import was valued at N6.9 trillion, representing 70.21 percent.
“The higher level of imports over exports resulted in a trade deficit (in goods) of -N3.9 trillion. The value of crude oil export stood at N1.9 trillion representing 66.38 percent of the total export recorded
in Q1, 2021, while non –crude oil export accounted for 33.62 percent of the total export.”
