Commodity imports from China, India, Spain, and the Netherlands in the first half of the year hit N8.36tn, data from the National Bureau of Statistics have revealed.
The Commodity Price Indices Terms of Trade reports for the first and second quarter of the year obtained from the NBS showed that these countries were Nigeria’s top four trade partners within the period under review.
In Q1 and Q2, total imports from the countries stood at N4.21tn and N4.17tn respectively.
A breakdown of total imports in Q1 shows that Nigeria spent N2.1tn on imports from China which were dominated by imported machines, T-shirts, singlets, vests of cotton and herbicides, and N589.1bn on imported motorcycles, cycles, antibiotics, and parts of machinery from India.
For the Netherlands, total imports stood at N726.1bn consisting of commodities such as antibiotics valued at N329.2bn, motor spirit valued at N213.64bn, gas oil, N71.85bn, among others.
On imports from Spain, the report read, “The value of imports from Spain during the quarter stood at N78.9bn. Motor Spirit (ordinary) ranked first in imports, valued at N20.82bn, and was followed by mixed alkylbenzenes and mixed alkyl naphthalenes valued at N13.75bn, Petroleum Bitumen N6.38bn and gypsum anhydrite worth N5.81bn.”
In Q2, imports from China stood at N2.08tn representing 29.9 per cent of total imports recorded in that period.
The largest imported commodity from China was ‘machines for the reception, conversion, and transmission (N118.69bn), other herbicides (N81.17bn), polyethylene terephthalate (N45.81bn), motorcycles (N32.72bn).”
Further analysis of the report shows that imports from India and Spain dropped to N570bn and N567.1bn respectively in Q2.
Similar to Q1, import trade from India in Q2 was dominated by imported cycles and vehicles while the largest commodities imported from Spain within this period were petroleum, bitumen and other mineral substances.
In Q2, eight per cent of total imports came from the Netherlands. Nigeria spent N567.1bn importing motor spirits, gas oil, lubricating oils, and blue whitings from the country.
On exports, the report revealed that petroleum products stood out as the most exported commodity in H1.
Meanwhile, the total value of exports from these top trade partners stood at N3.1tn at the end of the first six months of the year.
