According to the British Deputy High Commissioner, Jonny Baxter, Nigeria’s exports to the United Kingdom (UK) increased by around 74% in one year, from 1.9 billion to 3.3 billion British pounds by the end of June 2023.
In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos, Baxter mentioned the amount when discussing the volume of commerce between the two nations. He said that the amount was 1.4 billion pounds more than the previous year’s total.
“The overall trade figures, which includes imports and exports is 7.6 billion pounds and of that, 4.3 billion are made up of UK products that are imported into Nigeria, and that figure has gone up a 1 billion pounds if you compare with the figure of the year before.
“The rest of the 3.3 billion are Nigerian exports into the UK, and this has gone up by 1.4 billion so the increase in Nigeria’s export into the UK has been much more fast and this is great news.
“It shows that Nigeria is producing goods and services that people in the UK want to buy and they are being bought and purchased from Nigeria,” he said.
He noted that the introduction of Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) has further strengthened trade relations between both countries “The UK is committed to creating the best conditions possible for trade to continue to strengthen and in June this year, we started a new programme called DCTS.
“It is a global scheme covering all developing countries in the region of 65 countries and Nigeria in particular benefits from that.
“What it does is that it allows more and more goods into the UK by reduced tariffs or no tariffs at all and for Nigeria, 99 percent of what Nigerians export to the UK in goods and service is tariffs-free.
“This means that it is cheaper for people in the UK to buy those Nigerian goods and therefore are going to be more popular and it is a great thing for Nigeria to benefit from,” he said.
Baxter revealed that both countries were exploiting ways to address some barriers and hindrances of trading between both countries. He said that in April 2024, UK would host an African Investment Summit which would serve as a platform for Nigerian Companies to meet British investors.
“ In April next year, the UK is hosting an African investment summit and Nigeria would be a big player as it is an opportunity for Nigerian companies to pitch to British companies for investments, contracts, imports and exports
“As part of that, there would be a special side event on Nigeria creatives as I think in the past, maybe people haven’t focused so much on the creative industry as part of the economy.
“Nigeria is such a classic place where the creatives are so important and they have produced a lot of money and wealth and indeed, I think it is an increasing area for Nigeria’s economy, and it is brilliant that the African Investment Summit would have this side event,” he said.
