From Victor Osula, Abuja
Nigeria’s total imports in the first quarter of 2025 dropped to N15.43 trillion, representing a 7.51% decrease or N1.16 trillion compared to the N16.59 trillion recorded in the fourth quarter of 2024, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) disclosed in its latest foreign trade report.
However, the amount was 4.59% higher year-on-year compared to the first quarter of the 2024 financial year.
While the country recorded a positive trade balance in the first quarter of 2025, the trade surplus shrank by 20.1% y-o-y, falling from N6.52 trillion in the first quarter of 2024 to N5.17 trillion this year.
Nigeria’s total merchandise trade stood at N36.02 trillion during the quarter, recording a 6.19 percent y-o-y rise, but a 1.58 percent decline from N36.6 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2024, indicating a quarterly contraction in external trade activity.
The report showed that exports accounted for 57.18 percent of total trade, amounting to N20.60 trillion, up 7.42 percent from the N19.18 trillion recorded in the first quarter of 2024.
Crude oil continued to dominate trading for the quarter, making up 62.89% of total exports, standing at N12.95 trillion, while non-oil exports contributed N3.16 trillion or 15.38% of the total export, underscoring Nigeria’s continued dependence on hydrocarbon revenues.
According to the report, Nigeria’s top import partners were China, followed by India, the United States, the Netherlands, and the UAE.
The main imported commodities were automotive gas oil, premium motor spirit (petrol), crude petroleum oils, cane sugar, and durum wheat.
On the export side, major shipments were dominated by petroleum oils, light fuel oil, electrical energy, urea, and other light oils, which collectively represented 90.21% of total exports to the continent.
Nigeria’s trade data for the first quarter of 2025 underscores the fragile recovery of domestic consumption and the continued imbalance in trade structure, with oil exports vastly outpacing diversified, value-added exports.
