Nigeria has recorded a negative trade balance quarter-on-quarter as export declined by 19.8 percent to N5.93 trillion in the third quarter of 2022 from N7.4 trillion in the second quarter while import bill rose 4.2 percent to N5.66 trillion from N5.43 trillion.
As a result of the negative development in the export sector, the total foreign trade recorded a 10 percent decline to N11.59 trillion in Q3 from N12.84 trillion in Q2, while the trade balance fell quarter-on-quarter by 86 percent to N269.3 billion in the Q3 from N1.97 trillion in Q2.
These were contained in the Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics report for Q3 released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday.
The report stated that in the third quarter of 2022, Nigeria’s total trade stood at 11.59 trillion, was lower than the N12.84 trillion recorded the previous quarter but higher than the N10.47 trillion recorded in the corresponding period of 2021.
It said total exports stood at N5.93 trillion of which re-exports were N25.04 billion, while total imports stood at N5.66 trillion.
“In the quarter under review, total exports declined by 19.89 when compared to Q3’22 (N7.4 trillion) but it increased by 15.5 percent of the value recorded n Q3’21 (N5.13 trillion).
“On the other hand, total imports increased by 4.2 percent in Q3’22 when compared to the value recorded in Q2’22 (N5.43 trillion) and also grew by 6.16 percent when compared to the value recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2021 (N5.33 trillion). The balance of trade in the period under review stood at N269.34 billion,” the report stated.
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