Nigeria imported merchandise worth N5.66 trillion in the third quarter of the year, an increase of 4.2% and 6.2% compared to N5.44 trillion and N5.34 trillion recorded in Q2 2022 and Q3 2021, respectively.
This is according to Nigeria’s foreign trade breakdown for Q3 2022, released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and seen by Nairametrics.
The NBS report showed that Nigeria’s export value dipped by 19.9% quarter-on-quarter to N5.93 trillion in the same period, shrinking the trade balance to a positive N269.3 billion from the N1.97 trillion trade surplus recorded in the previous quarter.
- Top on the list of Nigeria’s import bill during the period under review is petrol, accounting for over 21% of the total import at N1.19 trillion.
- Nigeria continues to spend huge scarce FX resources on the importation of refined petroleum due to its inability to refine crude oil locally, while the government still pays large amounts as petrol subsidies to oil marketers.
- It is important to analyse the items that Nigeria and Nigerians import from other economies of the world in other to ascertain areas which lack local production costs in the nation. Hence, Nairametrics lists the top 10 Nigerian imports for Q3 2022.
Petrol – N1.19 trillion
Petrol, also known as motor spirit ordinary or PMS maintained the top spot on the list of Nigeria’s imports in the third quarter of the year at N1.19 trillion, accounting for 21.18% of the total import recorded in the period.
In contrast to the previous quarter (Q2 2022), petrol imports increased by 26.4% compared to N648.76 billion, while it increased by 14% from N1.05 trillion recorded in the corresponding period of 2021.
Gas oil – N261.59 billion
Nigeria imported gas oil valued at N261.59 billion in Q3 2022, contributing 4.62% to the total import bill for the period. The amount of gas oil imported in the period under review is 26.8% lower than the N357.37 billion recorded in the previous quarter.
It however represents a 15.9% increase when compared to the N225.63 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2021. Meanwhile, gas oil is a commercial fuel used as an alternative to road diesel. It has a lower tax duty and thus comes coloured red (leading to the name, red dye diesel).
Durum wheat (Not in seeds) – N252.62 billion
Durum wheat imported by Nigeria stood at N252.62 billion in the third quarter of 2022, accounting for 4.46% of the total imports recorded in the same period.
Nigeria’s durum wheat imports increased by 4.1% quarter-on-quarter compared to N242.67 billion recorded in the previous quarter, while it decreased by 19.8% compared to N315.17 billion recorded in Q3 2021.
Durum wheat is a variety of spring wheat that’s typically ground into semolina and used to make pasta. It is also finely ground and used to prepare couscous, bulgur, noodles, and bread. According to the Central Bank of Nigeria, wheat is the third most widely consumed grain in the country after maize and rice.
Jet fuel – N93.03 billion
A sum of N93.03 billion was spent on the importation of kerosene-type jet fuel in Q3 2022, representing 1.64% of the total import bill for the period.
Jet fuel import in Nigeria decreased by 8.9% compared to N102.14 billion recorded in the previous quarter. This may be attributed to the number of airline operators that discontinued operations in the period over a challenging operating environment.
Recall that Aero Contractors announced in July 2022 that it was shutting down operations in the country due to the impact of the challenging operating environment on its daily operations.
Used vehicles – N90.78 billion
Nigerians imported used vehicles valued at N90.78 billion in Q3 2022, which accounted for 1.6% of the total bill. Compared to the previous periods, the importation of used vehicles into the country reduced significantly.
On a year-on-year basis, used vehicle import dipped by 51% compared to N185.41 billion recorded in Q3 2021, while it reduced by 6.2% in contrast to N96.76 billion recorded in the previous quarter.
Nairametrics reported last month that car dealers faulted the depreciating exchange rate and high clearing cost as the major contributor to the decline in vehicle imports into the country.
Others on the list include
- Sugar cane – N86.58 billion
- Motorcycles and cycles – N59.86 billion
- Filters – N59.32 billion
- Other medications – N48.74 billion
- Other appliances – N44.71 billion
