News in brief: Nigeria exports in 2022 were higher in value than its imports, yet, this numbers does not look good enough for the country in terms of GDP.
Nigeria exported more than it imported in 2022, according to data released by the NBS. This was the first time in three years that the country had a net balance in foreign trade statistics.
Nigeria imported goods worth of â¦â25.59 trillion between January and December last year while it exported â¦â26.8 trillion worth of goods in the same period. With a positive net balance of â¦â1.2 trillion, the country fared better in international trade. Compared to 2021 when Nigeria had a negative balance of â¦â1.9 trillion and in 2020 when its balance in foreign trade was â¦â178.3 billion.
The change in fortune for the nation can be traced to its crude oil sector exports. It gave it an export worth â¦â21.1 trillion (or 78.74%), compared to last year when it was only able to ship â¦â14.4 trillion worth of crude oil products. The value was â¦â9.5 trillion in 2020, showing that the export in the sector has come a long way.
In percentages, the oil sector saw an increase of 46.5% year on year. Meanwhile, the country’s non-oil sector export cannot boast of the same big change as it only contributed â¦â5.6 trillion to the 2022 numbers. Although, it is higher than the â¦â4.5 trillion from 2021.
Exports surpassing Imports not good enough for Nigeria
While the change in net balance is encouraging, tracing the statistics shows a worrying trend. Nigeria continues to import more, at least in value, while its export value fluctuates more frequently. See value of imports between 2015 and 2022:
Of course, looking at the value is a bit problematic as the Naira’s devaluation in the past five years (from â¦â306/$ to â¦â460/$) also plays a role in the changes. However, when you look at agricultural imports versus exports, it becomes clearer that the look of things is not all good.
For example, Nigeria imported â¦â1.9 trillion worth of agricultural products in 2022. Compared to its â¦â598.2 billion export, the difference in its negative balance is glaring and alarming! The same goes for every other sector except crude oil, because the country does not import it.
In addition, when you consider that despite its export numbers appearing impressive, the crude oil sector only contributed 4.3% to Nigeria GDP in 2022, it is easy to see why other sectors need to improve their export value as well.
Non-oil sectors, like raw materials, energy, and solid minerals, are still found lacking.
