The recently released foreign trade report by the National Bureau of Statistics showed that Nigeria exported goods worth N7.41 trillion in the second quarter of 2022, representing a 47.5% increase from N5.02 trillion recorded in the corresponding period of 2021.
Also, compared to the previous quarter, export value increased by 4.3% from N7.1 trillion recorded in Q1 2022. It is worth noting that Nigeria’s export for the review period is the highest on record. As a result of the increase in export earnings, Nigeria’s trade balance increased to a surplus of N1.97 trillion, the highest since Q2 2018.
Meanwhile, the list of top exported items by the African giant appears the same, crude oil and natural gas topping the list, followed by urea. Meanwhile total crude oil export stood at N5.9 trillion in the period under review, a stunning 45.1% increase year-on-year.
The increase in the country’s crude oil earnings could be attributed to the significant rise in the price of crude oil, which has remained elevated since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war in February 2022.
Recommended Reading: Nigeria is no longer Africa’s largest oil-producing country.
Top 10 goods exported in Nigeria
1. Crude oil – N5.9 trillion
Nigeria made a total of N5.91 trillion from the export of crude oil in Q2 2022, which is stated as petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Crude oil export accounted for 79.77% of the total exports.
Compared to the previous quarter, crude petrol export increased by 5.1% from N5.62 trillion recorded in Q1 2022.
2. Natural gas – N735.6 billion
Natural gas ranks second on the list of top exported products in Q2 2022, bringing in a total of N735.59 billion in the period under review. It accounted for 9.93% of the total exports. This represents a 12.1% increase when compared to N655.9 billion recorded in Q1 2022.
3. Urea – N308.1 billion
Export earnings from Urea increased from N208.39 billion recorded in the previous quarter to N308.1 billion in Q2 2022, representing a 47.9% increase quarter-on-quarter. Meanwhile, urea export earnings accounted for 4.16% of the total amount generated from export in the review period.
4. Other petroleum gases – N73.6 billion
Fourth on the list of exported products from Nigeria is other petroleum gases (in gaseous state). It generated a total sum of N73.6 billion in Q2 2022. This accounts for 0.99% of the total exports. The product maintains the same spot it occupied in Q1 2022 despite a decline of 21.4% from N93.7 billion recorded in the first quarter of the year.
5. Cashew nuts – N53.16 billion
Nigerians earned a sum of N53.16 billion from the export of cashew nuts in Q2 2022, representing 0.72% of the total export earnings recorded in the period under consideration. A further breakdown of the report showed that N41.27 billion was earned from the export of cashew nuts still in shell, while N11.89 billion was generated from the sales of shelled cashew nuts.
Other items on the list
- Unwrought aluminium – N28.6 billion
- Sesamum seeds – N25 billion)
- Superior quality Cocoa beans – N22.5 billion
- Electrical energy – N21.7 billion
- Nonmonetary Gold – 17.7 billion
What you should know
Nigeria recorded a total foreign trade of N12.84 trillion in the second quarter of 2022, representing a 32.2% increase compared to the corresponding period of 2021 (N9.71 trillion). However, when compared to the previous quarter, it decreased marginally by 1.2% from N13 trillion).
Import bill increased 15.8% year on year to N5.44 trillion. Although compared to the previous quarter it declined by 7.9%.
