Posted Tue, Sep 17, 2019 2:58 AM

Foreign Trade Alert September 2019

External Trade in Goods Rises to N8.6 trillion, but Trade Balance Narrows

Nigeria’s external trade value inched up to N8.6 trillion in the second quarter of 2019 (2019Q2), 24.2% higher than the same period in 2018. Equally, this marks a marginal increase of 4.4% over the previous quarter (2019Q1). The ratio of export to import remained favourable at 53:47 with a positive trade balance of N588.9 billion, albeit a 63.1% decline relative to 2018Q2. Consequently, in the first half of 2019, total value of foreign trade increased by 15.4% to N16.8 trillion, compared to the same period in 2018.

Export Earnings by value remained undiversified

Total value of goods exported stood at N4.6 trillion in 2019Q2, a marginal increase of 1.3% over the previous quarter and 2.1% over 2018Q2. Growth in exports was triggered by an increase in oil exports, which grew by 2% and 11%, when compared with 2018Q2 and 2019Q1, respectively. Crude and other Oil Products continued to dominate exports earnings, accounting for 95% of total earnings in the quarter. Non-oil export, on the other hand, fell to N228 billion in the second quarter of 2019, from N604.4 billion in the previous quarter. The performance of key sectors such as agriculture, raw material, solid mineral and manufactured exports, dragged down the total value of non-oil export.

Import Trade Transactions Gain Momentum

Value of trade Import increased by 65.2% to N4 trillion in 2019Q2, relative to the previous quarter. Manufacturing items dominated Nigeria's imports, accounting for 61.7% (N2.65 trillion). This Suggests that manufactured goods have a more overwhelming effect on external reserves relative to agricultural goods, which accounted for only 6.2% of trade import in 2019Q2.