Nigeria's Trade Balance Improves as Total Trade Hits N41.44trn — NBS

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria recorded a total merchandise trade value of N41,444.89 billion in the second quarter of 2026, as disclosed in the Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics Report released in Abuja on Monday.

This figure represents a 5.61 per cent increase from the N37,244.42 billion recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2025, and a 19.13 per cent rise from the N34,788.59 billion recorded in the first quarter of 2026.

Exports Drive Trade Growth

According to the report, total exports stood at N27.02 billion, accounting for 65.20 per cent of overall trade during the quarter. This marks an 18.77 per cent increase compared to N22.75 billion recorded in the first quarter of 2025, and a 27.64 per cent rise from the N21.16 billion posted in the first quarter of 2026.

The report noted that Nigeria's export trade in Q2 2026 remained dominated by crude oil, valued at N12.91 billion and representing 47.79 per cent of total exports. Non-crude oil exports, meanwhile, stood at N14.10 billion, accounting for 52.21 per cent of total exports for the quarter, while non-oil products specifically contributed N3,729.67 billion, or 13.80 per cent of total exports.

India, Spain, the Netherlands, the United States and Togo emerged as Nigeria's top trading partners on the export side during the quarter. The most exported commodities included crude oil, kerosene-type jet fuel, natural gas, urea, and other petroleum gases in gaseous form.

Imports Decline Year-on-Year

On the import side, the report showed that total imports stood at N14.42 billion, representing 34.80 per cent of total trade in Q2 2026 — a 12.55 per cent decline compared to N16.49 billion recorded in the same quarter of 2025. However, imports rose by 5.91 per cent when compared to N13.61 billion recorded in the first quarter of 2026.

China remained Nigeria's leading import partner during the quarter, followed by the United States, India, the Netherlands and Germany. The most commonly imported commodities included ordinary motor spirit, crude petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, durum wheat, used vehicles with diesel or semi-diesel engines, and motorcycles.

Trade Balance Improves

The NBS reported that Nigeria's merchandise trade balance for Q2 2026 remained positive at N12.59 billion, reflecting a 101.32 per cent increase compared to the trade balance recorded in Q2 2025.