By Ngozi Onyeakusi— National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has disclosed that Nigeria recorded a trade deficit of N1.87tn in the second quarter of the year despite recording 111.32 per cent in crude oil exports.
According to the bureau,  the country’s deficit improved within the period. In the first quarter of the year, the country’s trade deficit stood at N3.94tn. The Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics report for Q2 2021 by the NBS showed that crude oil, Nigeria’s largest export, rose to N4.08tn from N1.93tn in the first quarter of the year. According to the NBS, crude exports constituted 80.29 per cent of the country’s total exports, higher than 66.38 per cent in Q1, while non-crude exports represented 19.71 per cent during the same period, lower than 33.62 per cent it occupied in Q1. In the second quarter, the total merchandise trade stood at N12.03tn representing a 23.28 per cent increase over the N9.76tn recorded in the first quarter and an 88.71 per cent increase compared to Q2,2020. “This increase resulted from the sharp increase in export value during the quarter under review,” the NBS stated. The export component of this trade was valued at N5.08tn or 42.22 per cent; the import component was valued at N6.95tn or 57.78 per cent.