Nigeria Records First Trade Deficit in 4 Years

• Nigeria Records First Trade Deficit in 4 Years

Nigeria’s total trade in the fourth quarter of 2019 stood at N10.120 trillion, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

This was 10.15 percent higher than the value recorded in the third quarter of the same year and 25.9 percent higher than the value filed in the fourth quarter of 2018.

On a yearly basis, the value of total trade rose by 14.05 percent from 2018 to N36.152 trillion in 2019.

Breaking down the report, the total value of imports into Africa’s largest economy rose by 37.2 percent to N5.349 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2019. This was 49.34 percent higher than the number achieved in the same period of 2018.

In 2019, imports grew by 28.8 percent when compared with the same period of 2018. The value of imported Agricultural goods contracted by 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter when compared with the third quarter but 6.6 percent high than the corresponding quarter of 2018.

The value of manufactured goods imported in the fourth quarter of the year rose by 40.74 percent than the level attained in the third quarter of the same year and 77.50 percent higher than the fourth quarter of 2018.

Energy goods imports decreased by 65.27 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019 when compared to the third quarter of 2019 and 75.86 percent when compared with the corresponding quarter of 2018. This led to 56.2 percent declined in the value of energy goods imported in the entire year.

The total value of goods exported during the period under review however declined by 9.79 percent in the fourth quarter of the year when compared to the third quarter and increased by 7.06 percent against the corresponding quarter of 2018.

The total value of export components stood at N4.777 trillion in the quarter while imports rose to N5.349 trillion. Indicating that the nations recorded a trade deficit for the first time since mid-2016.

“The faster increase in imports resulted in a negative trade balance of N579.06billion during the quarter under review, the first since mid2016,” the report stated.