March 1, 2019/NBS
During the fourth quarter of 2018, Nigeria’s total merchandise trade stood at N8,606.0billion. Compared to its value of N9,066.9billion recorded in the third quarter, total trade in Q4 2018 was lower by N460.96billion or 5.1%.
The total export component of this trade was recorded at N5,023.7 billion, representing an increase of 3.5% over Q3, 2018 and 28.5% over Q4, 2017. The import component stood at N3,582.3 in Q4,2018 showing a drop of N631.6billion or 15.0% compared to Q3,2018, but an increase of 69.6% when compared with the corresponding quarter in 2017.
The increase in export value and decrease in import value (relative to Q3 2018) resulted in a favourable trade balance of N1441.0 billion, or 125.5% over the preceding quarter. By year end 2018, the country recorded a total trade value of N32.264.7billion, representing 39.3% increase over the corresponding period in 2017. The volume of total merchandise trade in 2018 was the highest recorded since 2014, nearly double pre-recession levels.
