The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday reported that Nigeria’s total foreign trade value totaled N11,597.93 billion in the third quarter of 2022, representing a 9.7% decline compared to the N12,841.54 billion recorded in the preceding quarter.
However, the Bureau noted that the Q3 trade value was 10.7% higher than the N10,472.42 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2021.
These figures were contained in the Bureau’s Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics (Q3 2022) published on its website.
According to the statistics agency, the decrease in the Q3 trade value could partly be linked to the declining performance of the oil sector over the months.
The NBS clarified that in the quarter under review, the nation’s total exports stood at N5,933.63 billion of which Re-exports accounted for N25.04 billion, while total imports stood at N5,664.30 billion.
A further analysis of the total exports figures in Q3 2022 showed that Nigeria’s total exports declined by 19.89% when compared to N7,406.53 billion recorded in Q2 2022 but increased by 15.52% of the N5,136.56 billion value recorded in the third quarter of 2021.
The NBS clarified: “On the other hand, total imports increased by 4.22% in the third quarter of 2022 when compared to the value recorded in the second quarter of 2022 (N5,435.01 billion) and also grew by 6.16% when compared to the value recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2021 (N5,335.86 billion).
“The value of Re-Exports in the third quarter of 2022 stood at N25.04 billion, showing an increase of 160.16% compared to the value recorded in the second quarter of 2022 but declined by 86.07% compared to the corresponding quarter of 2021 (N179.81 billion)”, it added.
When the exports trade is analyzed based on re-export destinations, the statistics agency reported that in the quarter under review, the top five re-export destinations were Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, United Kingdom, China and The Netherlands.
Also, the Bureau reported that the most re-exported commodity were ‘Vessels and other floating structures for breaking up’ with N8,046.60 billion, followed by ‘Floating or submersible drilling or production platforms’ valued at M4,966.63 billion and ‘Aeroplanes and other aircraft, of an un-laden weight exceeding 15,000 kg’ amounting to N3,434.73 billion.
On imports, the NBS indicated that the value of imports increased by 4.2% quarter-on-quarter to N5.66 trillion in Q3 2022 compared to N5.44 trillion recorded in Q2 2022, while it increased by 6.2% from N5.34 trillion recorded in the corresponding period of 2021.
The Bureau’s data on the exports trade showed that the Q3 2022 value of trade was the lowest level since the third quarter of last year as a result of a huge decline in crude oil export earnings.
Specifically, crude oil export fell by 21.2% to N4.66 trillion in Q3 2022 from N5.91 trillion recorded in the previous quarter.
