SAT, MARCH 02 2019-theG&BJournal- Nigeria now exports more goods around the world than it did before. Q4, 2018, exporters saw the value of exports rise by 3.52% against the level recorded in Q3, 2018 and 28.46% higher than its value in Q4, 2017.
According to the latest data published yesterday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the value of Agricultural exports rose by 115.1% in Q4 2018 compared to Q3, 2018, and 696.8% compared to Q4 2017.
The country exported 15.5% more goods to India. Total export to Spain was 11.3% while its export to France 9.9%, South Africa 6.8% and Netherlands 6.5%.
Nigeria’s major import trading partners and their percentage shares in Q4 2018 import trade is as follows: China 25.1%, United States 10.4%, Netherlands 9.1%, India 6.5% and Belgium 5.5%
The value of Raw material goods exports in Q4, 2018 was 26.7% higher than the value in Q3 and 7.7% higher than the value recorded in Q4 2017. The value of Solid minerals exports decreased by 20.6% against Q3 2018 and 67.7% against the corresponding quarter in 2017.
The exports of Energy goods increased in value by 6.1% in Q4 2018 compared to Q3 2018 and by 12.7% when compared with Q4 2017.
The value of Manufactured goods exports rose by 14.97% in Q4 2018 when compared with the value recorded in Q3 2018 but decreased 36.6% against the corresponding quarter in 2017.
The value of Crude oil exports in Q4 2018 was 1.98% higher than in Q3 2018 and 29.95% higher than in Q4 2017.
The value of Other oil products exports increased by 3.5% in Q4 2018 when compared with Q3 2018, and 15.99% compared to Q4 2017.
The value of total imports fell 14.99% in Q4 2018 compared to Q3 2018, but rose 69.6% over the corresponding quarter of 2017. – Imported Agricultural products was valued at N5.0 billion, or 2.23% less than in Q3 2018, and N8.7 billion or 3.8% lower than Q4, 2017.
The value of Raw material imports grew 9.5% more than the value recorded in Q3, 2018 and 10.8% more than the value recorded in Q4 2017.
The value of Solid minerals imports was 5.26% lower than the value of imports in Q3, 2018 but 15.25% higher than the value recorded in Q4 2017.
The value of Energy goods imports was N40million, or 456.76% higher than in Q3,2018 due to the increased importation of non-coniferous energy goods ( i.e fuel wood in logs) during the quarter under review. Compared with the corresponding quarter of 2017, it represented a decrease of 70.8%.
The value of imported Manufactured goods decreased by 23.5% against the value recorded in Q3, 2018 but rose by 82.2% against its value in Q4, 2017.
The value of other oil products imported was N832.2 billion, or 28.6% lower than in Q3, 2018 but 118.98% higher than the corresponding quarter of 2017.
Major traded agricultural products in Q4 2018 were Sesamum seeds, Good fermented Nigerian Cocoa beans, Superior quality raw cocoa beans, Cashew nuts in Shell and other quality raw cocoa beans.
During the fourth quarter of 2018, Nigeria’s total merchandise trade stood at N8,606.0billion. Compared to its value of N9,066.9billion recorded in the third quarter, total trade in Q4 2018 was lower by N460.96billion or 5.1%. The total export component of this trade was recorded at N5,023.7 billion, representing an increase of 3.5% over Q3, 2018 and 28.5% over Q4, 2017.
The import component stood at N3,582.3 in Q4,2018 showing a drop of N631.6billion or 15.0% compared to Q3,2018, but an increase of 69.6% when compared with the corresponding quarter in 2017. The increase in export value and decrease in import value (relative to Q3 2018) resulted in a favourable trade balance of N1441.0 billion, or 125.5% over the preceding quarter. By year end 2018, the country recorded a total trade value of N32.264.7billion, representing 39.3% increase over the corresponding period in 2017. The volume of total merchandise trade in 2018 was the highest recorded since 2014, nearly double pre-recession levels.
Crude oil export has been the main stay of the economy, and at N4,228.9 billion, accounted for the largest share of total exports (84.2%) in the fourth quarter of 2018. Non-oil products accounted for 4.6% of total exports while other oil products accounted for 11.2% of total exports in the quarter under review.
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