By Theresa Igata

Nigeria’s foreign trade in goods has seen an increase in Q3, 2016 at N4.721.9 billion (4.72tr) an increase of N661.5 billion or 16.3% increase more than Q2, 2016 value of N4,060.4 billion and a 17.0% more than same quarter in 2015. This is contained in the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, Q3 2016 Foreign Trade statistics report.

This development arose due to increase in both imports and exports. The third quarter, 2016 had the second most significant consecutive rise in both import and export since Q1, 2016. Where exports stood at ₦2,308,857.2 billion (2.3tr) resulting in an increase of ₦520.8 billion or 29.1% Quarter -on-Quarter and 0.01% year-on-year fall, while imports rose to ₦2,413,001.7 billion (2.4tr) which gives an increase of ₦140.7 billion or 6.2% and 43% rise year-on-year. The rise in exports this quarter reduced the deficit trade balance from -₦484,238.7 billion experienced in the previous quarter to -₦104,144.5 billion.

Mineral products (30.9%); boilers machinery and appliances (19.7%); chemical and allied products (9.1%); plastic, rubber (6.4%) and base metals (5.6%) topped products imported in Nigeria in Q3, 2016, while Mineral products (97.3%); Prepared foodstuffs (1.1%); vegetable products (0.4%); live animals/animal products (0.3%) and base Metals (0.2%)

Meanwhile, India, United States of America and Spain led other countries in patronage of Nigeria’s crude oil; spending a total of N1.9 trillion in the first nine-months of this year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, data report.

The report also revealed that 12 other countries emerged top destinations for Nigeria’s crude oil grades, as they spent N3.245 trillion on the purchase of Nigeria’s crude oil in the period under review. The other countries, according to the NBS reports are Netherlands, France, South Africa, Brazil, China, Italy and Japan.

The rest are Canada, Indonesia, United Kingdom, Germany and the Ivory Coast. Specifically, in the first quarter of 2016, the countries, with the exception of Ivory Coast, United Kingdom, Indonesia, Canada and Germany, staked N624.6 trillion on the purchase of Nigerian crude oil; while in the second quarter of 2016, with the exception of Ivory Coast, United Kingdom, Japan, China and Brazil, the countries purchased N1.3 trillion of Nigeria’s crude oil. In the third quarter of 2016, the countries with the exception of Germany, China, Italy, Japan and Canada, purchased Nigeria’s crude oil valued at N1.34 trillion. The top three destinations for Nigeria’s crude oil export, India, US and Spain, accounted for 58.21 per cent of total crude oil purchased by the 15 countries in the nine-month period.

Corroborating the facts of Nigeria’s oil export market, Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Mr. Maikanti Baru, had said it was not true that Nigeria’s crude oil grades are stranded and that China was the only buyer of Nigeria’s crude oil. Baru , who was speaking at the bid opening ceremony for the sale and purchase of Nigerian crude oil grades for the 2017 fiscal year, said, “There have been speculations that we are struggling for market. That is not true. Nigerian crude has continued to earn premiums and it is hot cake all over for refiners”.

“Because of the light nature of the crude, it induced very high yields on the valuable products that you produced from crude oil. Nigerian crude continues to maintain market. In fact, contrary to a lot of speculation that a lot of Nigerian crude goes to China; it does not. Most of them are consumed and refined in India and Europe particularly, this year and last year. Most of Nigerian crude end up in European refineries.”

However, Europe (N1, 158.4bn/ 48.0%); Asia ( N843.27bn/ 34.9%); The Americas (N294.5bn/12.2%) and Africa (N87.7bn/3.6%) topped the list of Nigeria’s import trade partners in the quarter under review while Europe (N767.7bn/33.3%); Asia (N672.8bn/29.1%) and Africa (N190.3bn/16.1%) also ranked as Nigeria’s largest export destination.