Nigeria record 35.07 pct trade increase in Q1 – NBS
The country recorded an increase of ₦1.18 trillion in merchandise trade in the first quarter of this year to ₦7.21 trillion from ₦6.02 trillion in the fourth quarter of last year.
The figures were contained in the Foreign Trade in Goods Report, which was released on Wednesday by the National Bureau of Statistics.
The bureau stated that the trade value of ₦7.21 trillion was also an increase of 35.07 per cent when compared to the ₦5.33 trillion recorded in the corresponding first quarter of 2017.
“The total value of Nigeria’s merchandise trade was ₦7.21 trillion in the first quarter of 2018, which was a 19.74 per cent growth from the figure recorded in Q4 2017 (₦6.02 trillion) and a 35.07 per cent growth from Q1 2017 (₦5.33 trillion),” the report read in part.
It added that the strong growth of total trade in the first quarter was mainly driven by the strong increase in export.
It noted that as a result of the strong growth in trade, the country was able to record a surplus of ₦2.17 trillion in the first quarter of this year.
This, the report added, was a 20.95 per cent increase from the trade surplus of ₦1.79 trillion recorded in the fourth quarter of last year and a 221.08 per cent increase from the ₦677.42 billion recorded in the corresponding first quarter of 2017.
“The quarter under review is the first quarter in two years that the trade balance exceeded ₦2 trillion,” it added.
In terms of imported goods, the NBS report put the value at ₦2.51 trillion in the first quarter of this year, adding that this was 19.22 per cent higher than the ₦2.1 trillion recorded in the fourth quarter of last year.
It stated that the value of imported agricultural goods in the first quarter was ₦184.49 billion, representing a decline of 18.9 per cent from the fourth quarter figure of ₦227.49 billion.
Raw materials imports in the first quarter were ₦284.81 billion, which was a growth of 1.93 per cent compared to the ₦279.41 billion recorded in the fourth quarter of 2017.
It added that solid minerals imports in the first quarter were ₦12.62 billion, representing a decrease by 17.27 per cent when compared to the ₦15.26 billion recorded in the fourth quarter of last year.
The report also stated that the value of manufactured goods imported in the first quarter of this year was ₦1.18 trillion, declining by 1.65 per cent over the previous quarter’s figure of ₦1.2 trillion.
In terms of exports, the NBS report explained that the country exported goods valued at ₦4.69 trillion in the first quarter.
This represents a significant growth of 20.02 per cent over the fourth quarter 2017 exports value of ₦3.91 trillion.
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