Data obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics revealed that between January and September, Nigeria has recorded a trade deficit of ₦8.9trillion.
The NBS revealed on Monday that the country’s trade deficit rose to ₦3.03trillion in the third quarter of the year, total trade rose to ₦13.3trillion, comprising ₦8.2trillion imports and ₦5.1trillion exports.
The rise in imports was driven largely by increase in importation commodities such as motor spirits, gas oil, imported motorcycles and cycles.
Nigeria’s total merchandise trade stood at ₦9.76trillion in the first quarter of the year that is 6.99 per cent increase. Export component stood at ₦2.91trillion while import was valued at ₦6.85trillion.
The higher level of imports over exports resulted in a trade deficit of ₦3.94trllion in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Nigeria’s trade deficit fell to ₦1.87tn as exports jumped to ₦5.08tn against imports of ₦6.95tn.
The value of imports and exports in Q2 brought the total merchandise trade to ₦12.03tn, representing a 23.28 per cent increase from the ₦9.7tn recorded in Q1.
