Economy
Nigeria’s 2020 Trades Drop 10.5% Despite Improvement in Q4
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.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Okitipupa Plc was the sole price gainer at the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Friday, August 7, lifting the trading platform by 0.44 per cent at the close of transactions.
The share price of the palm oil producer appreciated during the trading session by N25.00 or 9.0 per cent to N277.00 per unit compared with the previous day’s N252.00 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation gained N12.29 billion to close at N2,807 trillion, in contrast to the previous session’s N2.795 trillion, while the NASD Security Index (NSI) added 93.63 points to finish at 4,678.08 points compared with Thursday’s 4,657.59 points.
The bourse recorded a price loser yesterday, and this was Mass Telecoms Innovation Plc, which crashed by 3 Kobo or 9.4 per cent to settle at 32 Kobo per share versus the previous day’s 35 Kobo per share.
The volume of securities traded by investors plunged by 81.5 per cent to 535,7560 units from 2.9 million units, the value of securities slumped by 93.9 per cent to N6.0 million from N99.2 million, and the number of deals decreased by 41.9 per cent to 36 deals from 62 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 transacted for N6.5 billion, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 77.0 million units exchanged for N5.5 billion.
GNI Plc also ended the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
A 0.15 per cent growth was achieved by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, driven by continued buying interest in banking stocks such as First Holdco and others.
The banking index was up by 1.53 per cent during the session, offsetting the losses recorded by the others. The industrial goods segment fell by 0.37 per cent, the insurance counter shrank by 0.21 per cent, and the energy sector contracted by 0.04 per cent, while the consumer goods space closed flat.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) moved up by 364.26 points to 245,573.60 points from 245,209.34 points, and the market capitalisation increased by N235 billion to N158.513 trillion from N158.278 trillion.
Despite the gains printed by Customs Street during the trading day, investor sentiment was weak, as there were 22 price gainers and 24 price losers, indicating a negative market breadth index.
UPDC surged by 9.23 per cent to N3.55, CWG soared by 6.56 per cent to N19.50, AXA Mansard appreciated by 4.80 per cent to N13.10, Neimeth advanced by 4.24 per cent to N8.60, and Cutix improved by 4.00 per cent to N2.60.
Conversely, Red Star Express lost 10.00 per cent to trade at N18.00, CAP declined by 9.98 per cent to N115.45, John Holt shrank by 9.82 per cent to N10.10, ABC Transport depreciated by 9.57 per cent to N5.20, and Legend Internet crashed by 8.70 per cent to N4.20.
A total of 1.5 billion equities worth N26.7 billion exchanged hands in 42,580 deals on Friday versus the 531.8 million equities valued at N20.5 billion traded in 44,826 deals on Thursday, representing a spike in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 182.06 per cent, 30.24 per cent, and 5.01 per cent, respectively.
The busiest stock during the session was Fortis Global Insurance, with a turnover of 824.5 million units valued at N2.1 billion, FCMB traded 217.9 million units worth N2.8 billion, Access Holdings exchanged 176.2 million units for N4.7 billion, Chams sold 32.5 million units worth N132.1 million, and First Holdco transacted 25.0 million units valued at N3.7 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira further closed south against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, August 7, by 81 Kobo or 0.06 per cent to N1,365.69/$1 from N1,364.88/$1.
It was a similar situation for the Nigerian Naira in the official market during the session as against the Pound Sterling; it lost N1.08 to quote at N1,839.17 versus the previous day’s N1,838.09/£1, and against the Euro, it slipped by N1.23 to close at N1,575.73/€1, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1,574.80/€1.
Further, at the GTBank forex counter, the Nigerian currency weakened against the Dollar yesterday by N2 to settle at N1,371/$1 compared with Thursday’s N1,369/$1, and at the black market, it traded flat at N1,400/$1.
The country’s legal tender came under FX demand pressure on Friday, with turnover rising by 304.3 per cent to $399.5 million from $98.8 million the previous day, with the number of deals slightly up to 107 from 106.
Next week, traders expect the Naira to hold steady, buoyed by dollar sales by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), whose presence in the market could help ease demand pressure.
As for the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin (BTC) neared the $65,000-mark after it gained 0.8 per cent to trade at $64,968.05, as investors took advantage of recent drops to shore up their holdings.
Previously, the decision by the US Senate to delay a vote on the Crypto Clarity Act until at least September weakened the outlook. The bill, which would set out which US regulator oversees which digital assets, needs 60 votes to pass and it is unclear whether it currently has 50.
Solana (SOL) grew by 2.5 per cent to $74.81, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 1.3 per cent to $0.0702, Binance Coin (BNB) jumped by 1.1 per cent to $593.80, Ethereum (ETH) expanded by 0.5 per cent to $1,916.08, Ripple (XRP) also soared by 0.5 per cent to $1.03, and TRON (TRX) appreciated by 0.2 per cent to $0.3275.
However, Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 1.0 per cent to $0.1997, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
