Nigeria’s foreign trade in the third quarter of 2023 rose by 53.16 per cent year-on-year to N 18.80tn.

This is as crude oil revenue surged by 83.23 per cent to N8.54tn in the quarter under review. In the third quarter of 2022, total crude oil sales amounted to N4.66tn.

Buoyed by an increase in trade activities in the period, total exports increased by 60.78 per cent to N10.35tn, according to the according to the National Bureau of Statistics ‘Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics (Q3 2023),’ report.

The report, released on Monday, read in part, “Nigeria’s total merchandise trade stood at N18.80tn in Q3, 2023. The value indicates an increase of 54.62 per cent over the amount recorded in Q2, 2023 as well as by 53.16 per cent when compared to the value recorded in Q3 2022.

“Total exports accounted for 55.02 per cent of total trade in the reviewed quarter with a value of N10.35tn, showing an increase of 60.78 per cent and 74.36 per cent over the value recorded in the preceding and corresponding quarters respectively.

“Exports trade in the third quarter of 2023 was dominated by crude oil exports valued at N8,535.61 billion representing 82.50 per cent of total exports while the value of non-crude oil exports stood at N1.81tn accounting for 17.50 per cent of total exports; of which non-oil products contributed N677.57bn or 6.55 per cent of total exports.

“On the other hand, the share of total imports accounted for 44.98 per cent of total trade in the third quarter of 2023 with the value of imports amounting to N8.46tn in Q3, 2023. This value indicates an increase of 47.70 per cent and 33.33 per cent respectively over the value (N5.73tn) and (N6.34tn) recorded in the preceding and the corresponding quarters of 2022.”

The country’s trade balance stood at N1.89tn. The statistics body noted that Spain (N1.27tn), India (N1.02tn), The Netherlands (N988.66bn), Indonesia (N758.59bn), and France (N720.45) recorded the highest exports from Nigeria. Altogether, exports to the top five countries amounted to 45.98 per cent of the total value of exports.

The country imported most from China (N1.97tn), Belgium (N996.65bn), India (N802.07bn), Malta (N561.37bn), and the United States of America (N502.92bn) which totaled N4.84tn, representing a share of 57.18 per cent of total imports.

Commenting on exported goods in the quarter, the NBS said, “However, analysis by traded products shows that the largest export value in the third quarter of 2023 remained ‘Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude’ with N8.54tn representing 82.50 per cent this was followed by ‘Natural gas, liquefied’ with N1.02tn accounting for 9.82 per cent, and ‘Urea, whether or not in aqueous solution’ with N109.68bn or 1.06 per cent of total exports.”

On imports, it added, “The commodities with the largest values of imported products were ‘Motor Spirit Ordinary’ valued at N1.92tn or 22.71 per cent, ‘Gas oil’ with N736.66bn or 8.71 per cent and ‘Durum wheat (not in seeds)’ with value amounting to N331.76bn or 3.92 per cent of total imports.”

While giving an update on the 2023 budget in the 2024 fiscal framework, the Federal Government disclosed that oil production was at about 1.33+ million barrels per day which is below its 1.69mbpd target for the year. Oil production in the country has been besieged with many problems.

The World Bank recently noted that oil production in the country remains subdued. A The PUNCH report recently noted that the country’s crude oil output rose to 1.35 million barrels per day in September 2023.

In another report, The PUNCH disclosed that oil production rose to about 1.7 million barrels per day. The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, said, “A substantial part of our forex comes from the oil sector. So, my ambition is to see how I can lead the sector to increase production and how we can get more revenue to be able to fund strategic national projects.

“We are already increasing production steadily. As of August, it was about 1.1mbpd, but as of today it has increased to between 1.3 and 1.4mbpd exclusive of condensates, if you include condensates it will be about 1.7mbpd.”

However, the rise in exports could be tied to the recent devaluation of the naira. Earlier in the year, JP Morgan said of the policy, “Of course, a weaker exchange rate means the government would receive higher naira revenues from oil and gas exports.”