Nigeria’s Merchandise Trade Volume Dips by 9.2%

According to the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, NBS, the total value of Nigeria’s merchandise trade during the fourth quarter of 2015 stood at N3, 653.1 billion.

The NBS in its quarter four 2015 merchandise trade report, released on Friday, March 18, indicates that the figure represents 9.2 per cent, lower than the value of N4, 021.4 billion recorded in the preceding quarter.

The report showed that the total trade volume recorded in Nigeria for the 2015 calendar year, stood at N16, 426.8 billion, which amounted to N7,251.6 billion (30.6%) less than the total trade value recorded for 2014.

According to the report, this development was largely due to sharp decline in the value of exports; from N16, 304.0 billion in 2014 to N9, 728.8 billion in 2015, a decline of 40.3 per cent.

The report also noted that a decrease of N676.4 billion (9.2%) in the total imports in 2015 contributed in mitigating the declining trade balance, which stood at N3,030.8 billion, N5,898.9 billion less than the value in 2014.

Similarly, the report further observed that crude oil component of total trade in the same quarter decreased by N4,945.9 billion (41.6%) as against the level recorded in 2014.