Nigeria Q1 2026 trade surplus hits N7.55 trillion

Nigeria's merchandise trade surplus surged to N7.55 trillion in the first quarter of 2026, a dramatic 340.88 percent increase from the N1.7 trillion surplus recorded in the final quarter of 2025. The National Bureau of Statistics released the data on Monday, attributing the sharp improvement to a significant rise in exports and a concurrent decline in imports.

Total trade for the quarter stood at N34.79 trillion. Exports accounted for N21.17 trillion, or 60.85 percent of total trade, while imports fell to N13.62 trillion, representing 39.15 percent. The statistics office noted that the export value increased by 2.77 percent year-on-year and by 11.63 percent compared to the previous quarter. Conversely, the import bill dropped by 18.17 percent from the first quarter of 2025 and by 21.05 percent from the fourth quarter of 2025.

Crude oil remained the dominant export, generating N11.20 trillion and accounting for 52.92 percent of total exports. While crude oil exports declined by 13.53 percent compared to the first quarter of 2025, they rose by 15.45 percent from the preceding quarter. Exports of other petroleum products saw a substantial year-on-year increase of 51.49 percent,...