The National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, has disclosed that Nigeria’s trade deficit with other countries is now N7.37 trillion.
The margin represents 317 percent decline when compared with the trade surplus of N2.32 trillion recorded in the 2019,according to the agency’s Foreign Trade Statistics for the fourth quarter of 2020 (Q4’2020),which also attributed the deficit to sharp declines in exports of crude oil, solid minerals and manufactured goods.
.This poor performance was caused by 10.3 per cent, year-on-year,y/y, decline in total foreign trade to N32.42 trillion in 2020, from N36.15 trillion in 2019.
According to the Bureau, the huge trade deficit recorded in 2020 was caused by 34.8 per cent decline in total exports to 12.52 trillion in 2020, due to decline of 35.7 per cent, 46.2 per cent, 53.7 per cent respectively in exports of crude oil, solid minerals and manufactured goods.
The report said the impact of decline was worsened by 17.3 per cent y/y to N19.89 trillion in 2020.
It added that total foreign trade rose quarter-on-quarter, q/q, by 8.9 per cent to N9.12 trillion in Q4’2020.
The report stated: “In the fourth quarter of 2020, Nigeria’s total merchandise trade stood at N9.12 trillion, representing 8.9% over the level recorded in the third quarter of 2020 but was 9.9% lower when compared to the fourth quarter of 2019. “The value of trade in Q4 was the highest recorded over the past year. The export component of trade stood at N3.19 trillion, an increase of 6.7% over the preceding quarter but a drop of 33% over the previous year.
“Further, the share of exports in total trade declined to 35% in Q4 2020 from 47% a year earlier. On the other hand, total imports reached a record high at N5.93 trillion in Q4 2020, an increase of 10.1% over the preceding quarter, and 10.8% over the preceding year. Imports also accounted for 65% of total trade in Q4 2020, compared to 53% the previous year.
“As the value of imports nearly doubled the value of exports, the trade deficit rose to its highest level and a fifth consecutive quarterly deficit at -N2,731.2 billion, an increase of 14.30% compared to the preceding quarter.
