Nigeria recorded a trade deficit of N138.98bn in the first quarter of 2020, the National Bureau of Statistics has said.
The NBS disclosed this in its Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics report for Q1 2020, which was released on Tuesday.
“The value of Nigeria’s total trade stood at N8.3tn in Q1, 2020. This was 17.94 per cent lower than the value recorded in Q4 2019 but 0.80 per cent higher than the value recorded in Q1 2019,” it said.
According to the report, the import component of the trade was valued at N4.22tn or 50.8 per cent, while the export component totalled N4.08tn, representing 49.2 per cent of the total trade.
“A trade deficit of N138.98bn was recorded during the quarter, marking two consecutive quarters of negative balance of trade, as the value of imports surpassed exports,” the NBS said.
It said the consecutive quarters of negative trade balance and lower imports and exports occurred against the backdrop of a global slowdown in economic activity as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The statistics office noted that the global health crisis resulted in several countries implementing varying degrees of restrictions with respect to international trade, travel and tourism.
When compared with the preceding quarter, the deficit in Q1 2020 was higher by 76 per cent.
On a year-on-year basis, however, the deficit was lower by 116.71 per cent.
Crude oil, Nigeria’s major export commodity, accounted for N2.94tn, representing 72.12 per cent of total exports in Q1 2020.
The value of crude oil export was 18.86 per cent less than the value recorded in Q4 2019 and 12.80 per cent lower than the value recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2019.
Non-oil exports were valued at N1.13tn, representing 27.9 per cent of total exports during the period under review.
Total imports stood at N4.22tn, indicating a decline of 21.08 per cent in Q1 2020 over the value recorded in Q4 2019, but an increase of 13.99 per cent when compared with Q1 2019.
The drop in the value of imports in Q1 2020 could be attributed to decreases in the value of machinery and transport equipment (N1.74tn), down from the N2.7tn recorded in Q4 2019, according to the report.
Chemicals and related products valued at N398.7bn were imported, down from the N573.98bn recorded in Q4 2019, while and crude inedible materials imports stood at N43.5bn, compared to N55.9bn in Q4 2019.
— Punch