Nigeria’s total merchandise trade increased to N9.76 trillion in the first quarter of the year, representing 6.99 per cent rise over the N9.12 trillion in the preceding quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) stated on Monday.
This also represented 14.13 per cent increase compared to N8.55 trillion recorded in Q1 2020.
According to the Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics (Q1 2021), released by the statistical agency, the export component of trade stood at N2.91 trillion, representing 29.79 per cent of the total trade.
Similarly, import was valued at N6.85 trillion or 70.21 per cent of total trade.
According to the NBS, the higher level of imports over exports resulted in a trade deficit in goods of N3.94 trillion.
The value of crude oil export stood at N1.92 trillion, representing 66.38 per cent of the total export in the review period while non-crude oil export accounted for 33.62 per cent of the total export.
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