Recent report by the National Bureau of Statistics revealed that Nigeria recorded N3.94 trillion trade deficit in the first three months of 2021.
For the first quarter of 2021, Nigeria’s total merchandise trade stood at N9.76billion representing 6.99% increase over the value recorded in Q4 2020 and 14.13% compared to Q1,2020.
The export component of this trade stood at N2.91 billion, representing 29.79% of the total trade while import was valued at N6.85 billion representing 70.21%.
The higher level of imports over exports resulted in a trade deficit (in goods) of -N3.94 billion. The value of Crude oil export stood at N1.93 billion representing 66.38% of the total export recorded in Q1 2021, while non –crude oil export accounted for 33.62% of the total export.