The agricultural sector recorded a trade deficit of N1.7tn between January and September this year, as exports stood at N371.8bn while imports rose to N2.1tn. The latest National Bureau of Statistics’ foreign trade report showed that the total value of trading in agricultural goods during the first three quarters of 2021 was N2.4tn. In the first quarter of the year, the total trade in the sector was N757.4bn, comprising an export component of N127.2bn and imports worth N630.2bn. The difference between the value of exports and imports during the reviewed quarter resulted in a trade deficit of N503bn. The report read in part, “Top exported agricultural products were Sesamum seeds exported mainly to China (valued at N23.1bn), Japan (N8.3bn) and Turkey (N3bn). “This was followed by good fermented cocoa beans exported to the Netherlands (N9.2bn), Malaysia (N5.5bn) and the United States (N3.2bn). Other major exports under this sector include cashew nuts in shell exported to Vietnam and India, worth N5.3bn and N5.1bn, respectively. “On the other hand, the import bill in the agricultural sector was dominated by the importation of durum wheat (not in seed) worth (N66.97bn) from Lithuania and Latvia (N41.51bn), as well as Canada (N41.31bn).