NIGERIA: The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed that Nigeria recorded a change deficit of N1.87 trillion in the 2nd quarter of this year.
The price of exports meant that Nigeria bought less than it sold.
The price of total exchange for the quarter in this reappraisal used to be N12.03 trillion and it was a 23.28 per cent step-up from N9.76 trillion recorded in the first quarter of the same year.
In contrast to the value at the identical quarter of the previous year, there used to be an 88.71 per cent increase from a previous worth of N6.37 trillion.
Imports
There was once a boost in Nigeria’s imports in the 2nd quarter. Compared to 1st quarter, imports rose by 1.45 per cent.
Compared with Q2 of 2020, imports rose by 67.49 per cent.
China used to be the top from which Nigeria imported items in Q2, claiming 29.91 per cent of the whole import portfolio.
Next on the list were India with 8.20 per cent, the Netherlands with 8.02 per cent, the United States of America with 7.58 per cent and Russia with 4.09 per cent.
According to the NBS, machinery and transport equipment accounted for 35.91 per cent of total import trade.
Next were chemicals & related products which accounted for 18.34 per cent, mineral fuel with 15.98 per cent, food and live animals with 13.69 per cent and manufactured goods with 9.2 per cent.
Exports
When compared to the first quarter, exports rose by 74.72 per cent and this increased by 128.29 per cent on a year-on-year basis.
With 18.7 per cent, India was Nigeria’s top export destination in the second quarter of 2021, followed by Spain with 10.3 per cent, Canada with 7.0 per cent, the Netherlands with 5.9 per cent and the United States of America with 5.1 per cent.
NBS further reported that mineral products accounted for 91.29 per cent of total export trade, followed by vehicles, aircraft and parts and other vessels with 2.79 per cent and vegetable products with 1.83 per cent.
Post-COVID-19 increase
The last time Nigeria recorded an export value of N5.29 trillion was in the third quarter of 2019.
It soon dropped to N2.22 trillion in the second quarter of 2020, marking the lowest point before it started to rise again.
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Even though the value dropped once more in the first quarter of 2021, Nigeria’s exports rose in the second quarter.
However, this growth is not enough to provide adequate foreign exchange for the country amid the pandemic which affected the year 2020.
Chairman of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MANEG) Ede Dafinone advised the government to provide incentives to non-oil exporters in order to have adequate foreign exchange and boost local industries.
