Nigeria's trade totals ₦36.2 trillion, yielding a ₦1.71 trillion trade surplus in the fourth quarter of 2025

Nigeria's total merchandise trade value reached ₦36.21 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2025, resulting in a trade surplus of ₦1.71 trillion as the country's exports outpaced its imports, despite a decline in crude oil shipments.

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The National Bureau of Statistics' Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics for Q4 2025 revealed that Nigeria maintained a trade surplus throughout all quarters of 2025, although the margin narrowed in the final quarter due to reduced earnings from crude oil exports.

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Total exports for the period were ₦18.96 trillion, while imports were valued at ₦17.25 trillion, yielding a trade surplus of ₦1.71 trillion, with imports rising by 3.98 per cent compared to ₦16.59 trillion in the same period of 2024.

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This increase in imports also represented a 1.73 per cent rise from ₦16.96 trillion in the previous quarter, with China, the United States, the Netherlands, India, and Brazil being Nigeria's top import partners during the quarter.

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The major commodities imported by Nigeria included motor spirit, durum wheat, crude petroleum oils, cane sugar for refining, and used diesel or semi-diesel engine vehicles, with agricultural imports valued at ₦1.44 trillion.

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This represented a 31.74 per cent increase year-on-year and a 30.24 per cent rise compared to the third quarter of 2025, while imports of raw materials rose to ₦2.35 trillion, up 11.50 per cent from the same period in 2024.

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The value of raw materials imports was also 16.59 per cent higher than the previous quarter, with Nigeria's export sector experiencing a decline in total exports to ₦18.96 trillion in Q4 2025.

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This represented a 5.25 per cent decrease from ₦20.01 trillion recorded in Q4 2024 and a 16.88 per cent drop compared to ₦22.81 trillion in Q3 2025, with the Netherlands, India, Spain, France, and Canada being the top export destinations.

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Nigeria's key export commodities included crude oil, natural gas, jet fuel, petroleum gases, and urea, with agricultural exports valued at ₦1.32 trillion, reflecting a 14.11 per cent decline year-on-year.

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However, agricultural exports experienced a 68.20 per cent increase compared to the previous quarter, while raw material exports rose significantly to ₦1.19 trillion, representing a 77.69 per cent increase from the level recorded in Q4 2024.

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Solid mineral exports increased to ₦116.84 billion, representing a 92.48 per cent rise year-on-year and a 15.90 per cent increase from the previous quarter, but manufactured goods exports declined to ₦423.43 billion.

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This decline represented a 14.32 per cent decrease compared to Q4 2024 and a 56.73 per cent drop from the level recorded in Q3 2025, with crude oil exports standing at ₦9.70 trillion, down 29.60 per cent year-on-year and 24.24 per cent quarter-on-quarter.

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On the other hand, exports of other petroleum products rose to ₦6.12 trillion, representing an 80.45 per cent increase compared to the corresponding quarter of 2024.