TheCable

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says Nigeria recorded N1.87 trillion trade deficit in the second quarter (Q2) of 2021. 

The NBS stated this in a report titled: “Foreign trade in goods statistics (Q2 2021),” released on Monday.

According to the report, Nigeria’s total merchandise trade increased by 23.28 percent from N9.76 trillion recorded in the first quarter (Q1) of 2021 to N12.03 trillion in Q2 2021.

The bureau explained that the rise was due to the sharp increase in export value during the quarter in view.

The export component of the trade was valued at N5.08 trillion (42.22 percent), while import was valued at N6.95 trillion (57.78 percent) with a trade balance deficit of N1.87 trillion.

NBS said crude oil, the major component of export trade, stood at N4.08 trillion (80.29 percent) of total export. 

It further said crude oil value had a sharp increase of 111.32 percent in Q2 2021 compared to the N1.93 trillion recorded in Q1 2021, while the non-crude oil goods recorded N1 trillion (19.71 percent) of total export trade during Q2 2021.

A breakdown of the report shows that the majority of imported goods in Q2 2021 originated from China with a value of N2.08 trillion, followed by India with N570.01 billion, Netherlands (N557.15 billion), United States (N526.92 billion), and Russia (N284.36 billion). 

Meanwhile, most goods were exported to India (949.05 billion), Spain (N524.49 billion), Canada (N355.60 billion), Netherlands (N298.29 billion), and the United States (N256.63 billion).