TheCable

Nigeria exported cigarettes, cocoa and its derivatives to the tune of N45.2 billion in the last three months of 2015, according to the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The largest import for those three months was refined petrol, Durum wheat and motorcycles.

Durum wheat imported within three months stood at N57.5 billion for October, November and December 2015.

In its Q4 report on the state of import and export within the Nigerian economy, the NBS also found out that the country’s export and import dropped drastically within the period.

“For the 2015 calendar year, the country’s total trade was recorded at N16,426.8 billion, amounting to N7,251.6 billion or 30.6% less than the total trade value recorded for 2014,” the report read.

“This development arose largely due to sharp decline in the value of exports; from N16,304.0 billion in 2014 to N9,728.8 billion in 2015, a decline of 40.3%.

“A decrease of N676.4 billion or 9.2% in the total imports in 2015 helped to mitigate the declining trade balance, which stood at N3,030.8 billion, N5,898.9 billion less than the value in 2014.”

According to Standard International Trade Classification and Country of Origin (SITC), Nigeria’s export for the three months was worth more than its import.

“The value of Nigeria’s imports stood at N1,576.4 billion at the end of Q4, 2015. This was 6.6% less than the value (N1,688.2 billion) recorded in the preceding quarter,” it said.

“Nigeria’s imports was dominated by the imports of ‘machinery and transport equipment’, ‘mineral fuel’, and ‘food and live animals’, which accounted for 32.4%, 18.5%, and 15.0% respectively in 2015.

“The value of the nation’s exports totalled N2,076.7 billion in Q4, on an annual basis total exports from Nigeria stood at N9,728.8 billion at the end of 2015, representing a drop of N6,575.2 billion or 40.3% over levels recorded in 2014.”

The country was said to have exported about N1.6 trillion worth of crude oil, and imported about N288.6 billion worth of refined petrol.