Nigeria’s agricultural imports fall 8.5% to N2.03 trillion in H1 2026

Nigeria’s agricultural imports fell by 8.5% year-on-year to N2.03 trillion in the first half of 2026, as the value of inbound agricultural products declined across the two quarters.

An analysis by Nairametrics of the Q1 and Q2 2026 Foreign Trade Statistics reports released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows that agricultural imports stood at N827.72 billion in Q1 and N1.20 trillion in Q2, bringing the H1 total to N2.03 trillion.

The figure compares with N1.04 trillion recorded in Q1 2025 and N1.18 trillion in Q2 2025, which resulted in a combined H1 2025 import value of N2.22 trillion.

What the data is saying

Agricultural imports accounted for 6.08% of Nigeria’s total imports in Q1 2026, down from 6.71% in the corresponding quarter of 2025.

• Their share increased to 8.35% in Q2, although this was still higher than the 7.75% recorded in Q2 2025.
• The quarterly increase reflects stronger import activity in the second quarter, when agricultural products brought into the country rose by 45.4% from N827.72 billion in Q1 to N1.20 trillion.

Despite the Q2 increase, the H1 figure remained below the N2.22 trillion recorded during the same period of 2025.

Get up to speed

The decline in imports comes alongside stronger agricultural export activity, with Nigerian producers continuing to ship a range of commodities to international markets.

• Among the major agricultural products exported in Q2 2026 were standard quality cocoa beans valued at N154.31 billion, sesame seeds at N96.03 billion, superior quality cocoa beans at N58.82 billion and soya beans excluding seeds at N50.22 billion.
• Other notable exports included flours and meals of soya beans worth N36.41 billion, cut flowers and flower buds at N31.43 billion, natural cocoa butter at N27.60 billion and crude shea oil at N12.66 billion.
• The export performance highlights the continued importance of agricultural commodities to Nigeria’s non-oil trade, particularly cocoa, sesame and other cash crops.

The reduction in agricultural imports could point to some improvement in domestic supply or changes in import demand, but the figures alone do not establish that local production has replaced imports.

What you should know

The agriculture sector remains the country’s largest employer in 2023, with over 25 million individuals engaged in agriculture, forestry, and fishing activities representing 30.1% of the total workforce.

NBS data shows that 25,341,219 individuals are actively employed in the agriculture sector, far surpassing other industries such as wholesale and retail trade, which employs 23,133,193 persons or 27.5% of the workforce.

Nairametrics reported earlier that Nigeria’s agricultural sector recorded capital importation of $167.25 million in 2025, reflecting modest but strategic investor interest in one of the country’s most critical sectors.

Nigeria recorded a total capital importation of $6.44 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025, representing a 26.61% year-on-year increase compared to $5.09 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2024.