Nigeria imported manufactured goods worth N2.78tn while the total export component was N254.2bn between April and June.
According to figures obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on foreign trade statistics for the second quarter, this amounted to a difference of N2.52tn in the period under review.
According to the NBS, N757.99bn, N885.98bn and N1.14tn manufactured goods were imported in April, May and June respectively.
It also revealed that N137.06bn, N82.07bn and N35.03bn were exported in April, May and June respectively.
The NBS stated, “The value of manufactured goods trade in Q2, 2020 stood at N3.04tn.
“Out of this, the export component accounted for N254.2bn.
“The products that drove up manufactured export were light vessels, fire floats, floating cranes exported to Spain in the value worth N129bn.
“There were also exports of vessels and other floating structures to Cameroun (N32.8bn), Equatorial Guinea (N36.9bn) and Singapore (N7.5bn).”
Export trade on manufactured goods by region showed that goods were exported mainly to Europe (N137.1bn) and within Africa (N96.98bn).
It stated, “On the other hand, manufactured imports stood at N2.78bn.
“The main drivers were used vehicles imported from United States (N116bn), Netherlands (N28.5bn) and Brazil (N24.7bn).
“Other goods imported under this category were motorcycles from India (N66.6bn) and China (N25.4bn).”
During the quarter, the data revealed that herbicides worth N58.8bn were imported from China while machine for reception were also imported from China amounting to N49.3bn.
Import trade by region showed that manufactured goods were mainly imported from Asia (N1.75tn) and Europe (N503.3bn).
The majority of commodities exported out of Nigeria were transported via water.
This was reflected in the value of exports by water in Q2,2020.
Water transport accounted for 99.76 per cent of total exports.
Air transport contributed 0.05 per cent while others accounted for 0.19 per cent.
For imports, most goods brought into the country arrived via water transportation means, accounting for 93.67 per cent of the value of total imports.
Another major mode of transport used was air, which accounted for goods valued at 6.1 per cent.
In Q2, 2020, the bulk of export transactions was conducted through Apapa port, with goods worth 86.1 per cent of total exports, followed by Port Harcourt which recorded 10 per cent and Tin Can Island, which was responsible for goods worth 3.3 per cent.
In terms of imports, Apapa Port also recorded the highest transactions valued at 40.3 per cent of total imports.
This was followed by Tin Can Island, for goods worth 21.7 per cent of total imports.
Port-Harcourt accounted for goods valued at 9.5 per cent. – Punch.
