Nigeria recorded N3 trillion negative foreign trade balance in the Third Quarter(Q3) of 2021 as total import hits N8.2 trillion against N5.1 trillion in the period under review National Bureau of Statistics(NBS) has revealed.
Dr. Simon Harry, the Statistician General of the Federation and Chief Executive Officer of National Bureau of Statistics, made this disclosure during a press briefing in Abuja.
He disclosed that Nigerian export trade was mainly dominated by Crude Oil, which amounted to N4 trillion Naira.
Meanwhile, Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) valued at N1.05 trillion topped Nigerian import trade.
According to Dr Harry, “In terms of exports, Nigerian Export trade was mainly dominated by Crude Oil which amounted to N4trillion(78.47%) of total export in the Third Quarter. This was followed by Natural gas, liquefied with 487.49billion(9.50℅), floating of submersible drilling platforms with N163.70billion(3.19%) and Urea, whether or not in aqueous solution with 107.17billion(2.08%).
“On the other hand, imports were mainly motor spirit valued at N1.1trillion(12.91%), Dur wheat valued at 315.17billiom(3.87%), Gas Oil with N225.63billion(2.77%), Used Vehicles N185.41billion(2.27%). “In terms of trading partners, the top five major trading partners in export trade during the 3rd Quarter, 2021 were India with N758.1billion, Spain with N627.01 billion, Italy with N446.04 billion, France with N363.23 billion and Netherlands with N242.49 billion. Similarly, the top import trading partners in the period under review were China with N2,441.79billion, India with 710.35billion, United States with 599.12billion, Netherlands with N554 billion and Belgium with N434.12 billion”, the statistician general stated.
International trade is an exchange or trade of goods between different nations which cut across international borders or territories.
NBS stated that collection of data is majorly from secondary data sources such as the Nigeria Customs Service(NSC), Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation(NNPC), Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority(NPRA), Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN), Nigerian Export Procession Zone Agency(NEPZA), Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas Limited(NLNG), Nereli Technology Limited, Gojopal Nigeria Limited, Anglia International Limited, Oil and Gas Free Zone Agency(OGFZE), Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission(NERC), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria(FAAN), Nigeria Civil Aviation(NCAA), Nigeria Port Authority, among others.