Lower import, export crash Nigeria’s trade with UK by N105bn in one year

Declining export and import have crashed Nigeria’s total trade with the United Kingdom by N105bn in the first quarter of 2024 despite the higher value realised from the naira devaluation.

This is according to the recent foreign trade statistics report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

According to the report, the total trade comprising import and export between Nigeria and the UK dropped from N602.36 billion in Q1 2023 to N451.45 billion in Q1 2024.

This represents a significant year-on-year (Y-o-Y) decline of 25%.

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On quarter-on-quarter (Q-o-Q) basis, (Q4 2023) to Q1 2024 the figure plummeted to N522.79 billion representing a decline of 14%.

A closer look at the data reveals that both imports and exports have experienced declines. Nigeria’s imports from the UK decreased from N186.99 billion in Q4 2023 to N183.34 billion in Q1 2024, marking a 2% Q-o-Q decline. However, year-on-year, the imports increased by 25%, up from N146.88 billion in Q1 2023.

On exports, there was a more substantial drop, which dragged the total trade numbers down.

The export value fell from N335.8 billion in Q4 2023 to N268.11 billion in Q1 2024, showing a 20% Q-o-Q decrease. On a year-on-year basis, exports plummeted by 41%, down from N455.48 billion in Q1 2023.

By: Babajide Okeowo

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