Nigeria Suffered a Trade Deficit of N1.41 trillion in Q4 of 2023

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has recently released the latest Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics, revealing that Nigeria experienced a trade deficit of N1.41 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2023 (Q4 2023). During this period, Nigeria’s total trade amounted to ₦26.80 trillion, indicating a significant increase of 38.24 percent compared to the value recorded in the third quarter of 2023 (N19.38 trillion), and a substantial growth of 128.64 percent compared to the corresponding period in 2022 (11.72 trillion).

The total value of exports reached N12.69 trillion, while imports stood at N14.10 trillion. The trade imbalance observed in this quarter can be attributed to the surge in imports of manufactured goods, which amounted to N9.0 trillion, surpassing the N3.9 trillion recorded in Q3 2023. Importantly, the growth rate of imports outpaced that of exports on a year-on-year basis, with exports growing by 99.6 percent and imports by 163.06 percent. This increase in imports can be attributed to the removal of restrictions on access to foreign currency for trade purposes.

Despite the government’s ongoing efforts to expand non-oil exports, it accounted for less than 10 percent of the total exports. This underlines the necessity to reconsider Nigeria’s export promotion strategy. Furthermore, there is a pressing need for the government to enhance the reliability of power supply and facilitate greater access to credit.