According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria’s overall purchases amounted to N35.9tn in 2023, up from N25.5tn in 2022.
The data breakdown reveals that in the first and second quarters of 2023, total imports were valued at N6.4tn, which rose to N9tn in the third quarter and further to N14tn in the fourth quarter.
In terms of quantity, manufactured imports led the way with imports valued at N18.3tn. Agricultural imports were valued at N2.2tn, while raw materials imports totaled N3tn.
Conversely, Nigeria was able to generate exports totaling N35.9tn, with much of it attributed to crude oil at N29tn, while other oil products contributed N3.5tn.
Agricultural exports were valued at N1.2tn, and the value of manufactured goods exported from Nigeria amounted to N778bn.
As a result, Nigeria experienced a trade deficit of –N1tn in the agricultural sector and a significant –N17.5tn in the manufacturing sector.
In a statement to The PUNCH, Muda Yusuf, the Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, attributed the substantial increase in exports to the depreciation of the naira on a year-on-year basis.
He explained, “I believe it is due to the naira depreciation. If you were importing something that was $1m when the exchange rate was N450, and now you are importing products worth $1m at the exchange rate of N1,500.
“That is already three times when you multiply it in naira. So, in dollar terms, it is possible that the import has even decreased. We need to take that into consideration.”
The rise in exports occurs as President Bola Tinubu pushes to increase non-oil exports and diversify the economy away from crude oil exports.
According to NBS data, Nigeria's total non-oil exports in 2019 (the highest in recent times) were approximately $9.13bn.
During a presentation at an event organized by the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, the Director-General of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, mentioned that Nigeria's performance in global export trade ranks 52nd among nations.
He also noted that domestically, Nigeria has not performed well in terms of the proportion of non-oil and manufactured exports to total exports.
He listed challenges hampering exports, including the expensive cost of local and imported raw materials, insecurity across the country, including industrial areas, and a shortage of skilled workers.
Other issues include high transportation costs, foreign exchange instability and deterioration in exchange rates, and limited access to funds with high-interest rates on loans from commercial banks.
He said, “However, the discovery of crude oil caused a shift that led the country to mainly rely on the oil sector, neglecting other sectors.
“This made the economy vulnerable to fluctuations in revenue, caused by the usual instability associated with crude oil prices in the international market.”
In January, Nonye Ayeni, the Executive Director of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, reported a slight decrease to $4.5bn in the value of Nigeria’s non-oil export revenue in 2023 while addressing the media on the performance report of the non-oil export sector.
The decrease is equal to a $300m or 6.3 percent drop from the $4.8bn revenue collected by the government in 2022 and $500m less than the $5bn target set by the council for the year.
She noted that in 2022, the value was $4.8bn. In 2023, it slightly dropped to $4.5bn, but there was an increase in the amount of exports. In 2023, there were 6.68 million metric tons of manufactured, semi-processed, solid minerals to agricultural commodities.
Nonye attributed the decline to the weak exchange rate, increase in informal trade, political instability in neighboring countries, and export rejection, among other factors.
