Nigeria’s Trade Surplus Rises by Over 51% to N5.17tn in Q1 2025
Nigeria’s Trade Surplus Rises by Over 51% to N5.17tn in Q1 2025
Nigeria’s balance of trade — the difference between the value of exports and imports — rose by 51.07% to N5.17 trillion in the first quarter of 2025, compared to the previous quarter, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Wednesday.
Total merchandise trade for the period stood at N36.02 trillion, reflecting a 6.19% increase from the N33.92 trillion recorded in Q1 2024.
However, compared to the preceding quarter, trade decreased by 1.58 per cent compared to N36.60 trillion.
According to the Foreign Trade Statistics for Q1 2025, exports accounted for 57.18 per cent of total trade with a value of N20.59 trillion, an increase of 7.42 per cent compared to N19.17 trillion in Q1 2024 and N20.01 trillion.
Exports trade continued to be dominated by crude oil valued at N12.95 trillion or 62.89 per cent of total exports while the value of non-crude oil exports stood at N7.64 trillion, accounting for 37.11 per cent of total exports of which non-oil products contributed N3.16 trillion or 15.38 per cent of total exports.
Nigeria exported goods mainly to Europe, valued at N8.64 trillion or 41.96 per cent of total exports, followed by exports to Asia at N6.75 trillion or 32.79 per cent while exports to America were valued at N3.32 trillion, representing 16.16 per cent of total exports.
Exports to Africa stood at N1.85 trillion or nine per cent of the total exports; out of which, goods exported to ECOWAS countries were valued at N1.06 trillion or 57.58 per cent of the total exports to Africa.
India emerged as the main export with N2.84 trillion or 13.80 per cent of total exports, followed by exports to The Netherlands.
However, imports accounted for 42.82 per cent of total trade in the review period with N15.42 trillion, representing a 4.59 per cent increase compared to N14.74 trillion but 7.02 per cent decrease from N16.59 trillion in Q4 2024.
The country imported goods mainly from Asia, valued at N8.77 trillion, representing 56.87 per cent of total imports.
This was followed by imports from Europe N3.26 trillion or 21.14 per cent, America N2.29 trillion or 14.86 per cent, while imports from Oceania stood at N98.61 billion or 0.64 per cent.
Imports to African countries stood at N1 trillion or 6.49 per cent of total imports, of which imports from ECOWAS countries amounted to N200.36 billion or 1.30 per cent of total imports.
Imports from China led the chart at N4.65 trillion, accounting for 30.19% of Nigeria’s total imports.
India followed with N1.71 trillion, representing 11.13%, while imports from the United States stood at N1.42 trillion, making up 9.22% of the total.
