Nigeria’s export trade has been on a downward spiral since January 2013, a report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has stated.
According to the NBS, the total value of Nigeria’s exports trade in 2015 was N7,251.6 billion or 30.6% less than the total trade value recorded for 2014.
Tagged: ‘Merchandise Trade Declines in Q4, 2015,’ the NBS report rued the poor state of foreign trade in the fourth quarter of 2015.
However, the report clearly indicates that Nigeria is succeeding in curbing citizens’ appetite for rather frivolous imported goods as there is a reported decrease of N454.6billion or 22.4% in the quarterly comparisons.
“The total value of Nigeria’s merchandise trade during the Fourth Quarter of 2015 stood at N3,653.1billion, 9.2% lower than the value of N4,021.4billion recorded in the preceding quarter.
“For the 2015 calendar year, the country’s total trade was recorded at N16,426.8billion, amounting to N7,251.6 billion or 30.6% less than the total trade value recorded for 2014.
This development arose largely due to sharp decline the value of exports; from N16,304.0billion in 2014 to N9,728.8 billion in 2015, a decline of 40.3%.
“A decrease of N676.4billion or 9.2% in the total imports in 2015 helped to mitigate the declining trade balance, which stood at N3,030.8billion, N5,898.9 billion less than the value in 2014,” the NBS stated.
The body’s analysis of imports gave elaborate explanations of progress recorded thus far.
“The value of Nigeria’s imports stood at N1,576.4billion at the end of Q4, 2015; this was 6.6% less than the value (N1,688.2billion) recorded in the preceding quarter.
“Comparison with the corresponding quarter of 2014, showed a decrease of N454.6 billion or 22.4%.
“The structure of Nigeria’s imports was dominated by the imports of “Machinery and transport equipment”, “Mineral Fuel”, and “Food and Live Animals”, which accounted for 32.4%, 18.5%, and 15.0% respectively in 2015.
“These commodities contributed the most to the value of import trade in 2015, whereas commodities such as “Crude inedible materials”, “Oils, fats & waxes”, and “Beverages & tobacco”, contributed the least; accounting for 1.6%, 1.0%, and 0.5% respectively.
“Imports by section, were dominated by the imports of “Boilers, machinery and appliances”, which accounted for N1,580.0 billion or 23.6% of the total value of imports in 2015.
“Other commodities which contributed noticeably to the value of imports in 2015 were “Mineral Products” at N1,273.4billion (19.0%), “Vehicles, aircraft and associated parts” at N608.5billion (9.1%), “Products of the chemical and allied industries” at N578.9billion (8.6%) and “base metals and articles of base metals” at N574.1billion (8.5%).
In 2015, imports classified by Broad Economic Category revealed that “Industrial supplies not elsewhere classified” ranked first with N1,824.1billion or 27.2%, followed by “Capital goods and parts” with the value of N1,516.7 billion or 22.6%, and “Fuels and Lubricants” with the value of N1,210.7billion or 18.1% while the value of Premium Motor Spirit stood at N288.6billion.
“The crude oil component of total trade decreased by N4,945.9billion or 41.6% as against the level recorded in 2014” the NBS stated, noting that crude oil figures for the last quarter are provisional.
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