Nigeria recorded a trade deficit of N579.06 billion in the fourth quarter of 2019 out of the total trade value of N10.12 trillion recorded same period.
Daily Trust observes that this would be Nigeria’s first negative trade balance since 2016 when Nigeria recorded last trade deficit.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that the value of Nigeria’s total trade during the fourth quarter of 2019 represents 10.15% increase over the value recorded in third quarter of 2019 and 25.9% increase relative to fourth quarter, 2018.
The report showed that the value of the export component (N4.77 trillion) fell by 9.79% against the third quarter, 2019 but rose by 7.06% when compared with the corresponding quarter in 2018.
On the other hand, the import component (valued at N5.35 trillion) increased by 37.20% in the fourth quarter against the third quarter, 2019 and 49.34% against fourth quarter, 2018.
“The faster increase in imports resulted in a negative trade balance,” NBS reported.
On an annual basis, the value of total trade in 2019 was recorded at N36.15 trillion, representing a 14.05% increase over 2018.
However, this was lower than 36.86% recorded in 2018 over 2017.
The level of imports stood at N16.96 trillion while exports were valued at N19.19 trillion, resulting in a trade balance of N2.23 trillion.
NBS reported that while imports rose by 28.8% in 2019 over 2018, exports rose by only 3.6%, and the trade balance was 58.4% less than in 2018.
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