Nigeria’s economy recorded N22.1tn trade in 2017 – NBS

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Saturday that Nigeria’s trade statistics for the 2017 fiscal period recorded an increase of N5.5 trillion in trade from N17.3 trillion in 2016 to N23.1 trillion in the year under review.

The bureau in the report  made public on Saturday revealed that total imports stood at N9.5 trillion, adding that this was 8.5 per cent lower than the N8.8 trillion import value recorded in 2016.

In terms of exports, the NBS report puts the 2017 figure at N13.59 trillion, which was 59.47 per cent higher than the N8.52 trillion recorded in 2016.

The report said trade balance, stood at a surplus of N1.79 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2017 compared to the surplus of N1.08 trillion recorded in the preceding quarter.

The data for the full year 2017 show a trade balance of N4.03 trillion compared to a negative trade balance of N290.1 billion in 2016.

It reads in part, “Total trade recorded for Q4 2017 was N6.02tn which represented a decline of 0.7 per cent over the Q3 2017, and an increase of 13.9 per cent over the same period last year Q4 2016.

“For full year 2017, total trade was N23.16tn which is 33.5 per cent higher when compared to the value in 2016 of N17.34tn.

“Total imports value at N2.11tn in Q4 2017 was 15.1 per cent less than Q3 2017 figure (N2.48tn) and 8.5 per cent lower than Q4, 2016 (N2.3tn).

“Total imports for full year 2017 stood at N9.5tn which was 8.5 per cent lower than the 2016 trade import value of N8.81tn.”

Exports in the fourth quarter, according to the report were still oil dependent, adding that crude oil exports were N3.25 trillion in the fourth quarter and it remained the highest proportion of total exports with 83 per cent.