Economy

Nigeria’s 2020 Trades Drop 10.5% Despite Improvement in Q4

Published

5 years ago

09/03/2021

By Adedapo Adesanya

Despite an increase in trade activities in the final quarter of last year, Nigeria’s total trade dropped 10.5 per cent in 2020, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed.

In the Foreign Trade in Good Statistics for the fourth quarter released on Tuesday by the agency, it was disclosed that the country recorded a total of N32.4 trillion in both its import and export for the year compared to N36.2 trillion in 2019.

An analysis of the report by Business Post showed that Nigeria recorded higher imports than exports in the year due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The value of total imports in 2020 stood at N19.9 trillion, 17.8 per cent higher than N16.9 trillion in 2019, while total exports dropped by 34.9 per cent to N12.5 trillion from N19.2 trillion in the previous period.

This brought about a trade deficit of N7.4 trillion in the year under review.

However, as earlier stated, in the fourth quarter of the year, the value of trade was the highest recorded over the past year as total merchandise trade stood at N9.1 trillion, representing an increase of 8.9 per cent over the level recorded in the third quarter of 2020 but was 9.9 lower when compared to the fourth quarter of 2019.

The export component of trade stood at N3.2 trillion, an increase of 6.7 per cent over the preceding quarter but a drop of 33 per cent over the previous year. Further, the share of exports in total trade declined to 35 per cent in Q4 2020 from 47 per cent a year earlier.

On the other hand, total imports reached a record high at N5.9 trillion in Q4 2020, an increase of 10.1 per cent over the preceding quarter, and 10.8 per cent over the preceding year. Imports also accounted for 65 per cent of total trade in Q4 2020, compared to 53 per cent the previous year.

As the value of imports nearly doubled the value of exports, the trade deficit rose to its highest level and a fifth consecutive quarterly deficit at N2.7 trillion, signifying an increase of 14.3 per cent compared to the preceding quarter.

In a breakdown of the import figures during the whole year, machinery and transport equipment accounted for 36.6 per cent, chemicals and related products recorded 18.2 per cent while mineral fuels followed with 15.3 per cent.

By destination, Asia also accounted for the largest imports to Nigeria, representing 49.3 per cent of total imports during the period, this was valued at N9.8 trillion in 2020.

This was followed by Europe with imports valued at N6.6 trillion, equivalent to 33.3 per cent of total imports, while America, recorded N2.6 trillion or 13.2 per cent of total imports for the period.

By country of origin for the full year, imported goods originated mainly from China and were valued at N1.7 trillion representing 28.3 per cent of total imports. This was followed by India (N506 billion or 8.5 per cent), the United States (N408.6 billion or 7.6 per cent), the Netherlands (N424.5 billion, or 7.2 per cent) and Denmark (N319.9 billion, or 5.4 per cent).

During the period, there were declines in agricultural, solid minerals, energy goods, manufactured, crude and other oil exports.

Crude oil exports accounted for the chunk of Nigeria’s exports as 75.2 per cent of the total figure was gotten from the black gold. This amounted to N9.4 trillion for the year under review while non-crude oil exports accounted for N3.1 trillion (24.8 per cent) of the export figure in the year.

The stats office said in the fourth quarter of last year, India was the major country Nigeria exported its products to, accounting for 17.1 per cent. Spain followed with 9.8 per cent, South Africa accounted for 8.0 per cent, The Netherlands accounted for 6.1 per cent, while the United States contributed 5.3 per cent.

Economy

Four Securities Erase N51.17bn from NASD Exchange

Published

11 hours ago

27/06/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Four securities weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.95 per cent on Friday, erasing N41.17 billion from the bourse, which had its market capitalisation at N2.567 trillion compared with the previous session’s N2.618 trillion.

In the same vein, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) decreased at the close of business by 85.28 points to 4,277.07 points from 4,362.32 points.

The price decliners were led by 11 Plc, which gave up N20.50 to sell at N200.50 per share compared with the preceding day’s N221.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc dropped N16.94 to close at N155.20 per unit versus Thursday’s closing price of N172.14 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by N2.11 to N84.68 per share from N86.79 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc lost 11 Kobo to end at N16.74 per unit, in contrast to the N16.85 per unit it closed a day earlier.

During the trading day, the value of transactions jumped by 172.1 per cent to N29.9 million from the preceding session’s N10.9 million, and the volume of trades soared by 136.5 per cent to 955,096 units from the previous 403,901 units, while the number of deals went down by 11.4 per cent to 31 deals from 35 deals.

Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 68.6 million units sold for N4.7 billion.

GNI Plc also ended the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.

Economy

Cautious Trading, Profit-taking Weaken Nigeria’s Stock Exchange by 0.66%

Published

11 hours ago

27/06/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The last trading session of this week on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended on a negative note, with a 0.66 per cent loss on Friday.

This was influenced by sustained selling pressure and cautious trading, which forced investors into profit-taking.

Data obtained by Business Post showed that the energy sector fell by 4.66 per cent, the insurance counter dipped by 2.23 per cent, the consumer goods index depreciated by 0.96 per cent, and the banking segment shed 0.28 per cent, while the industrial goods space remained unchanged.

At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) of Nigeria’s stock exchange went down by 1,531.81 points to 232,049.02 points from 233,580.83 points, and the market capitalisation dropped N983 billion to settle at N148.905 trillion compared with Thursday’s N149.888 trillion.

Aradel was the worst-performing equity after it lost 10.00 per cent to close at N1,417.50. International Energy Insurance slipped by 9.95 per cent to N5.79, Trans-Nationwide Express depreciated by 9.89 per cent to N3.28, eTranzact crashed by 9.79 per cent to N14.75, and UPDC slumped by 9.72 per cent to N28.12.

The best-performing equity for the day was Universal Insurance, which gained 6.32 per cent to close at N1.01, McNichols grew by 5.52 per cent to N8.60, Linkage Assurance expanded by 4.67 per cent to N1.57, NGX Group appreciated by 4.35 per cent to N120.00, and Transcorp increased by 3.62 per cent to N41.50.

As look at the activity level indicated that investors traded 388.7 million stocks worth N18.4 billion in 44,631 deals compared with the 393.7 million stocks valued at N19.2 billion executed in 45,813 deals a day earlier, representing a decline in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 1.27 per cent, 4.17 per cent, and 2.58 per cent, respectively.

Economy

Official FX Market Sees Naira Dip to N1,380.93/$1

Published

11 hours ago

27/06/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira recorded a loss of 82 Kobo or 0.06 per cent against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, June 26, exchanging at N1,380.93/$1, in contrast to the previous day’s rate of N1,380.11/$1.

Equally, the domestic currency further weakened against the Pound Sterling in the official FX market yesterday by N6.06 to settle at N1,824.90/£1 versus the preceding session’s N1,818.84/£1, and lost N10.74 on the Euro to sell at N1,577 .58/€1 versus N1,566.84/€1.

At the GTBank forex counter, the Naira depreciated against the greenback during the session by N4 to close at N1,387/$1, in contrast to Thursday’s value of N1,383/$1, and at the parallel market, it was unchanged at N1,395/$1.

Interbank FX activity among financial institutions has fluctuated amid a sharp slowdown in forex market interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as it allows demand and supply to move the market.

Also, a stronger greenback has generally put significant pressure on emerging-market currencies.

Nigeria has accessed the first tranche of a proposed $5 billion derivatives financing arrangement with First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC, the largest lender in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The $5 billion facility, approved by the National Assembly earlier this year, is part of the federal government’s plan to diversify external financing sources and reduce borrowing costs. Structured as a Total Return Swap with First Abu Dhabi Bank, proceeds are earmarked for refinancing debt and supporting infrastructure financing.

If the proceeds are brought into the country through the official FX market, the transaction will increase the currency reserves or Dollar liquidity.

At the cryptocurrency market, Solana (SOL) grew by 2.2 per cent to $71.92, Cardano (ADA) gained 1.1 per cent to trade at $0.1474, Ripple (XRP) also appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $1.05, Dogecoin (DOGE) expanded by 0.9 per cent to $0.0755, and Ethereum (ETH) improved by 0.4 per cent to $1,578.84.

On the flip side, TRON (TRX) slid 0.6 per cent to $0.3203, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 0.3 per cent to $564.33, and Bitcoin fell by 0.2 per cent to $60,219.37, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.