The Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics (Q1 2024) released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows that Nigeria recorded a trade surplus of N6.52 trillion in the first quarter of 2024 (Q1 2024).
This is a significant improvement in trade when compared to the N3.63 trillion trade surplus in Q4 2023 and the N20.93 billion trade surplus in Q1 2023.
In the first quarter (Q1 2024), Nigeria’s total trade was ₦31.81 trillion, suggesting a 46.27 percent increase from the value recorded in the fourth quarter of 2023 (N21.74 trillion) and a 146 percent increase from the value recorded in the corresponding period of 2023, which stood at N12.95 trillion.
Total exports amounted to N19.16 trillion, and imports amounted to N12.64 trillion. On a year-on-year basis, the growth rate of exports was higher than that of imports, with exports growing by 51 percent and imports by 40 percent.
In Q1 2024, crude oil exports were valued at ₦15.48 trillion and accounted for 81 percent of total exports, while non-crude oil exports stood at ₦3.68 trillion, accounting for 19 percent of total exports.
Analysing the trade statistics reveals that Nigeria’s strong performance in oil exports was mostly responsible for its favourable balance of trade position in the first quarter of 2024. The growth in trade needs to be interpreted with caution given currency depreciation within the last 12 months.
We need to diversify our export basket to increase the share of non-oil exports to over 50%. Hence, the government needs to assess and improve its ongoing non-oil export promotion initiatives, to boost and diversify export earnings, given the Nigerian economy’s extreme susceptibility to changes in commodity prices due to the concentration of exports on a small number of commodities, particularly crude oil.