Nigeria Recorded N1.94tn Trade Deficit in 2021, says Report

In a report released by the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria recorded N1.94tn foreign trade deficit in 2021.

This implies a negative trade balance as the Nigerian economy is still import-driven and depends largely on exports of petroleum and some agricultural products to meet foreign exchange earnings.

However, according to the NBS ‘Foreign trade in goods statistics Q4, 2021 report’, this was an improvement from N7.37tn trade deficit recorded in 2020.

Also, the data revealed that Nigeria’s total foreign trade rose by 22.61 per cent in 2021 to hit N39.75tn.

“In 2021, the value of total trade stood at N39.75 trillion, which is 57.60 per cent higher than the value recorded in 2020,” the report reads.

“The value of total imports in 2021 stood at N20.84 trillion, which is 64.11 percent higher than the value recorded in 2020, while total exports were valued at N18.91 trillion, showing an increase of 50.99 percent than the value recorded in 2020. Overall in 2021, merchandise trade recorded a deficit of N1.94 trillion.”

The report shows that imports stood at N5.94 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2021 while export was N5.77 trillion.

“Export in the fourth quarter of 2021 was still oil-dependent. Crude oil exports recorded N4.27 trillion, and it remained the major product in total exports (74.04 percent), while non-crude oil was valued at N1.49 trillion or 25.96 percent of total exports of which non-oil products contributed N810.88 billion, representing 14.06 percent of total exports during the quarter under review,” it added.

The top three countries that accounted for the highest share in Nigeria’s total exports in Q4 2021 were India (15.17 percent), Spain (13.69 percent) and France (8.42 percent).

China (27.8 percent), Belgium (10.3 percent) and India (7.24 percent) were the countries Nigeria imported the most goods from during the period.

March 16, 2022