• Data Shows N671bn Surplus In Q4

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Saturday showed that Nigeria ended the year 2016 with total trade of N17.344tr, up by 6.47%, compared to N16.299tr in 2015, still a far cry from N23.678tr in 2014.
A breakdown of the figure contained in the report titled: “Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics,” showed that while total exports in 2016 was N8.527tr, down from N9.593tr a year earlier, total imports was N8.817tr, up from N6.697tr, translating into trade deficit of N290.1 billion, as against previous year’s surplus of N2.895tr in 2015 and N8.929tr, a year earlier.
A breakdown of the full year figure showed that Nigeria exported crude oil valued at N6.99tr in 2016; N1.53tr of non-crude oil exports; and N344.37bn worth of non-oil exports. Also, exports represented 49.2% of total trade, crude oil accounted for 82% of total exports; leaving non-oil exports at just 4.0% of total.
Activities in the fourth quarter of the year contributed N5.29tr, an increase of 10.6% over that of the previous quarter and 50.3% above the figure for the corresponding fourth quarter of 2015, according to the Foreign Trade Statistics (Q4 2016).
Specifically, the report noted, the negative balance of trade for the 2016 full-year could have been worse, but for the positive recorded in the last quarter of the year, when there was a faster rise in the value of exports relative to that of in imports. Import fell to N2.31tr, a quarter-on-quarter decline of 6.1%, but 46.39% year-on-year rise, just as exports climbed by 28.26% QoQ and 53.48% YoY to N2.98tr, resulting in a trade balance of N671.29tr.
Crude oil however remained the dominant export commodity, accounting for N2.43tr in value for the period; followed by non-crude oil exports of N553.57bn; and N129.55bn non-oil exports.
Also, while exports accounted for 56.3% of total trade; crude oil was 81.4% of total exports, while non-oil exports as percentage of total exports was 4.3%.
Nigeria’s top export partners for Q4 were India, 16%; Netherlands, 11.2%; U.S, 10.6%; Spain, 9.6%; and South Africa, 5.4%; while goods were mainly imported from China, 17.5% of total; Belgium, 15.4%; Netherlands, 10%; U.S, 8.9%; and India, 4.9%.
This resulted in a trade balance of N7.671tr, from the negative of N7.136tr recorded in the preceding quarter.
“This development stemmed from a rise of N7.656tr or 28.3%, in the value of exports combined with a decline of N150.9bn or 6.1%, in the value of imports against the levels recorded in the preceding quarter. The last time Nigeria recorded a positive trade balance was in Q4 2015.”
Mineral products section continued to dominate the import trade date, accounting for N724bn or 31.4% of the total value of import trade in Q4, 2016, followed by “Boilers, machinery and appliances; parts thereof,” accounting for N464.9bn or 20.1%; while “Products of the chemical and allied industries” was next with N217.2bn or 9.4%; and “Prepared foodstuffs; beverages, spirits and vinegar, tobacco” with N148.5bn or 6.4% and “Base metals and articles of base metals” with N130.1bn or 5.6%.
For the 2016 full year, imports by broad economic category was also driven by “fuels and lubricants N2487tr or 28.2% (of which motor spirit was 18.4%; followed by industrial supplies with 22.7% (processed industrial supplies was 21.5%), capital goods and parts with 22.4% (capital goods- 16.2% and parts and accessories- 6.2%); food and beverage with 12.8% of total imports; and transport equipment and parts with 9.3% (of which passenger motor cars-1.9%, other transport equipment and parts-9.4%).”
The report also showed that the bulk of imports came from China, which accounted for 19.7% of total imports; followed by the Netherlands, 11.7%; and the U.S, 8.0%; while “Nigeria imported the most from Europe, 46.7%; then Asia, 35.8%; and the Americas, 12.2%.”
The country’s imports from Africa stood at a mere 4.1% of total in 2016, while import from within the ECOWAS region was 1.2%.