Economy
Crude Oil Accounts for 74.45% of Nigeria’s Exports in Q1 2019
By Dipo Olowookere
It seems efforts by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to diversify the nation’s economy so as to stop the heavy reliance on crude oil as Nigeria’s major exports are not yielding any meaningful results.
This is because the commodity is still the main driver of the economy despite attempts to make the non-oil industry contribute significantly to revenue generated.
Last week, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released the Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics for the first quarter of 2019, but the figures showed that much of the trades carried out by the Africa’s largest economy was still in the oil sector.
According to the stats office, Nigeria’s export in the first quarter of this year was still oil dependent, with exports trade dominated by crude oil exports, which contributed N3.377 trillion or 74.45 percent to the value of total exports in Q1, 2019.
However, the non-oil products accounted for 25.55 percent of total exports in the quarter under review.
In Q1 2019, Nigeria exported most products to Europe, Asia and Africa equivalent to N1.833 trillion or 40.43 percent of total exports, N1.325 trillion or 29.2 percent and N936.8 billion or 20.67 percent respectively.
Furthermore, Nigeria exported goods worth N405.8 billion or 8.95 percent to the Americas and N34.5 billion or 0.76 percent to Oceania.
Within Africa, Nigeria exported goods valued at N300.6 billion to ECOWAS member states, representing 32.08 percent of total merchandise exports to Africa.
By country of destination, Nigeria exported goods mainly to India, Spain, Netherlands, South Africa and France, valued at N745.0 billion or 16.43 percent, N487.1 billion or 10.74 percent, N405.4 billion or 8.9 percent, N325.5 billion or 7.2 percent and N302.3 billion or 6.7 percent respectively.
In the report, the NBS said the total trade recorded in Nigeria in the first quarter of 2019 grew by 2.50 percent when compared with what was achieved in the fourth quarter of and by 7.52 percent as against the corresponding quarter in 2018.
In the period under consideration, the country’s total exports was recorded at N4.535 trillion, which represents a 1.78 percent rise compared with the fourth quarter of 2018 but a 3.9 percent fall compared to the first quarter of 2018.
Similarly, the value of total imports increased to N3.704 trillion, representing an increase of 3.39 percent relative to Q4 2018 and 29.84 percent compared with Q1 2018.
It further stated that the trade balance of Nigeria remained positive at N831.6 billion in the first quarter of this year, boosted by increase in both exports and imports, with the boost also helped total trade increase to N8.239 trillion.
A breakdown of the imports showed that imported agricultural products were 7.98 percent higher in value than in Q4 2018, and 28.1 percent higher than in Q1, 2018, while the value of raw material imports grew 6.62 percent more than the value recorded in Q4, 2018 and 20.76 percent more than the value recorded in Q1 2018.
Also, the value of solid minerals imports was 1.26 percent more than the value of imports in Q4, 2018 and 35.90 percent higher than the value recorded in Q1 2018, while the value of energy goods imports was 20.28 percent lower than in Q4, 2018. Compared with the corresponding quarter of 2018, a decrease of 0.94 percent was recorded.
In the report analysed by Business Post, the stats office said the value of imported manufactured goods increased by 25.81 percent in Q1, 2019 against the value recorded in Q4, 2018 and rose by 130.7 percent against its value in Q1, 2018. The increase in value of imported manufactured goods was partly as a result of the importation of hygienic/ pharmaceutical product for humanitarian purposes during the quarter.
In addition, the value of other oil products imported was 58.4 percent lower than in Q4, 2018 and 72.71 percent lower than the corresponding quarter of 2018.
For the exports, the value of agricultural exports in Q1 2019 was 11.89 percent lower than in Q4, 2018 but 17.5 percent higher than Q1 2018.
The value of raw material exports in Q1, 2019 was 10.67 percent lower than the value in Q4, 2018 but 11.57 percent higher than in Q1 2018.
The value of solid minerals exports increased by 16.88 percent relative to Q4 2018 but decreased by 66.6 percent compared to the corresponding quarter in 2018.
The exports of energy goods decreased in value by 1.3 percent compared to Q4, 2018 but increased by 2.17 percent when compared with Q1 2018.
The value of manufactured goods exports rose by 511.19 percent in Q1 2019 when compared with the value recorded in Q4 2018 and 6.43 percent compared to the corresponding quarter in 2018. The increase in export during the quarter was due to the re-export of vessels and other floating structures during the quarter, amongst other high value re-exports.
The value of crude oil exports in Q1 2019 was 7.78 percent lower than in Q4 2018 and 5.67 percent lower than in Q1 2018.
The value of other oil products exports decreased by 1.42 percent compared to Q4 2018, and 1.44 percent compared to Q1 2018.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has defended its decision to allow Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) to invest in the parent companies of their custodians, insisting that adequate safeguards are in place to protect contributors’ funds.
The director-general of the pension regulator, Ms Omolola Oloworaran, speaking on Tuesday during the Meet the Press Briefing at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said the commission’s decision to relax the investment restriction followed a comprehensive risk assessment that found minimal conflict of interest.
She explained that under PenCom’s investment regulations, PFAs are only permitted to invest pension assets in carefully selected instruments that meet stringent criteria, including profitability, strong credit ratings and proven track records.
According to her, the commission regularly reviews its investment regulations, conducts routine examinations and spot checks on PFAs to ensure strict compliance with established risk management guidelines.
“PFAs cannot just go into the stock market and buy any kind of stock. There are strict guidelines. Companies must demonstrate profitability, have a proven track record and satisfy other criteria before pension funds can invest,” she said.
Ms Oloworaran noted that each PFA also operates under the oversight of a board, an investment committee and a risk management committee, providing additional layers of governance to safeguard contributors’ funds.
She said PenCom recently issued a circular allowing PFAs to invest in the parent companies of their custodians after determining that the potential conflict of interest was negligible.
The PenCom boss explained that the parent companies involved are largely Tier-1 banks, including First Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Zenith Bank, which she described as A-rated institutions with strong financial foundations.
She said the policy was intended to widen investment opportunities for pension funds without compromising safety.
Using Stanbic IBTC as an example, Ms Oloworaran explained that if its custodian is Zenith Bank, the previous restriction prevented the pension administrator from investing in Zenith Bank shares despite the bank’s strong performance.
“We reviewed the risks and any potential conflict of interest and found the risks to be very low. That is why we opened that investment window,” she said.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Analysts at Meristem Research have predicted that the inflation rate for June 2026 in Nigeria should marginally rise to 15.95 per cent on a year-on-year basis from the 15.93 per cent reported in May 2026.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is expected to release inflation numbers for last month later today, Wednesday, July 15, 2026.
In its report sighted by Business Post, Meristem Research said it expects inflationary pressures to re-emerge across key economies in the near term, as the re-escalation of the US-Iran conflict has reignited upward pressure on global oil prices.
It disclosed that this marks a sharp reversal from most of June, when the ceasefire between the two countries helped drive oil prices lower, raising expectations of some relief on the inflation front.
With conflicts now flaring up again, oil prices are likely to increase again, and the anticipated easing in energy-driven inflation may not materialise as broadly as earlier envisaged.
“Nonetheless, some relief is likely from the food segment, where robust supply conditions across major producing regions and softening demand should continue to ease food price pressures,” it stated.
The team also explained that it projected a 15.95 per cent inflation rate because of the lingering effects of persistent food price pressures.
“However, we expect core inflation to moderate as the sharp reversal in energy prices begins to filter through to transportation, distribution, and other energy-related costs, easing underlying price pressures.
“On a month-on-month basis, the combined effect of lower petrol prices, a relatively stable Naira, and the gradual pass-through of reduced energy costs across the supply chain should exert further downward pressure on inflation.
“Based on our assessment, food inflation is expected to remain the key swing factor, as seasonal pre-harvest supply constraints are likely to offset some of the gains from lower logistics costs,” it said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The duo of Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and Afriland Properties Plc weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.61 per cent on Tuesday, July 14.
CSCS Plc saw its stock value drop N9.08 to close at N82.40 per share compared with the preceding session’s N91.48 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc slid by 17 Kobo to sell at N15.00 per unit versus N15.70 per unit.
The losses recorded by the two securities pulled back the market capitalisation by N41.64 billion to N2.546 trillion from N2.587 trillion, and cracked the NASD Security Index (NSI) by 69.36 points to 4,242.31 points from 4,311.67 points.
It was observed that the exchange witnessed two price advancers during the session, led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which gained N1.37 to end at N151.37 per share compared with the previous day’s N150.00 per share, and Food Concepts Plc chalked up 5 Kobo to settle at N2.50 per unit versus N2.45 per unit.
The volume of securities traded by market participants surged by 50.7 per cent to 13.7 million units from the previous 9.1 million units, while the value of securities went down by 79.7 per cent to N65.2 million from N320.4 million, and the number of deals crashed by 3.6 per cent to 27 deals from the previous session’s 28 deals.
At the close of transactions, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with the sale of 3.4 billion units for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc, which exchanged 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units transacted for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the trading day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million.
