Nigeria’s trade surplus rose to N6.52 trillion in the first quarter of 2024, according to the latest foreign trade statistics report released on Sunday.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report shows that the country recorded a positive trade balance of N6.52 trillion for the sixth straight quarter in Q1, a 79.1 percent increase from N3.64 trillion in the previous quarter. It also jumped from N20.9 billion on a year-on-year basis.
A trade surplus, an economic measure of a positive trade balance, occurs when a country’s exports exceed its imports.
Total merchandise trade in Africa’s most populous nation stood at N31.8 trillion in Q1, an increase of 46.3 percent over the value recorded in the preceding quarter and rose by 145.6 percent compared to the value recorded in the corresponding period of 2023.
“Data revealed that export accounted for 60.3 percent of total trade in the reviewed quarter with a value of N19.2 trillion, showing an increase of 51 percent compared to the value recorded in Q4 (N12.7 trillion) and by 195.5 percent over the value recorded in Q1 2023 (N6.48 trillion),” the NBS report said.
