By Bassey Udo
Nigeria’s total merchandise trade figure in the second quarter of 2022 between April and June stood at about N12.84trillion, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reports
The statistics agency said in the latest edition of its Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics Report for Q2 2022 released in Abuja on Thursday that the figure was lower by about 1.23 percent than the net value N13.001 trillion recorded in the first quarter of 2022.
The NBS said the figure was however higher than the total value of about ₦9.7 trillion recorded in the corresponding period in 2021.
Further review of the report showed that the country’s total exports value was about ₦7.41 trillion, of which re-exports stood at ₦9.63 billion, while total imports stood at ₦5.44 trillion.
The NBS further reported that the country’s total exports rose marginally by 4.31 percent when compared to about ₦7.1 trillion realized in the first quarter of 2022, and by 47.55 percent from ₦5.019 trillion recorded in the second quarter of 2021.
On the other hand, the country’s total imports, the NBS said, decreased by 7.89 percent in the second quarter of 2022 when compared to the value in the first quarter of 2022 (₦5,900.83 billion), which grew by 15.83 percent from about ₦4.69 trillion recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2021.
Re-Exports in the second quarter of 2022, which stood at ₦9.63 billion, decreased substantially from about ₦64.39 billion recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2021 and in the first quarter of 2022 (₦115.80 billion) by 85.05 percent and 91.68 percent respectively.
In the quarter, the NBS identified Nigeria’s top five re-export destinations to include Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Cameroun and Turkey, with the most re-exported commodity groups as ‘Lightvessels, fire-floats, floating cranes, and other vessels.
Nigeria’s top five export destinations in the second quarter of 2022, accounting for about 58.55 percent share of the total ₦7.41 trillion value of exports, the NBS said, were India with a share of 14.85 percent, followed by Spain (13.98 percent), Netherlands (12.35 percent), United States of America and Indonesia (8.93percent and 8.45 percent respectively.
The commodity with the largest export values of ₦5.907 trillion during the period, representing 79.77 percent of the total value of exports, was ‘Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude oil, followed by ‘Natural gas, liquefied’ with ₦735.60 billion, accounting for about 9.93 percent, and ‘Urea, whether or not in aqueous solution’, with ₦308.14 billion, or 4.16 percent of total exports.
In terms of Imports, China, Belgium, India, The Netherlands and United States of America were the top five countries of origin of imports to Nigeria in the second quarter of 2022, with the total values of imports from them put at about ₦3.17 trillion, representing 57.71 percent of the total value of imports ₦5.435 trillion.
The commodity groups with the largest values among the top imported products were ‘Motor Spirit ordinary’ (₦948.76 billion), ‘Gas Oil’ (₦357.37billion), and ‘Durum wheat (Not in seeds)’ (₦242.67 billion).
when Compared with the value of imports in the first quarter of 2022 (₦5.9 trillion), the NBS said the value of imports in the second quarter (₦5.44trillion) decreased by 7.89 percent, although it increased by 15.83 percent when compared to the value recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2021 (₦4,692.33billion).
Sectoral import values showed agricultural imports increased to about ₦464.45 billion, from ₦443.36 billion in the first quarter; raw material imports grew by 100 percent to ₦696.12billion; solid minerals imports (₦38.66 billion), dropped by 5.92 percent from ₦41.09billion in the first quarter; energy goods imports stood at ₦0.01 billion, 100% higher than the value recorded in the first quarter.
The value of imported manufactured goods in the quarter which stood at
₦2.76 trillion was a decline of 7.28 percent from ₦2.97trillion recorded in Q1, 2022; other oil products imports stood at ₦1.479 trillion, a decrease of 22.34 percent from ₦1.905 trillion recorded in Q1, 2022.
