Nigeria’s foreign trade in Q3 of 2023 was 82.50% oil exports. This is based on the National Bureau of Statistics’ Foreign Trade Statistics Report.
In the third quarter of 2023, crude oil exports accounted for the lion’s share of Nigeria’s export earnings. At ₦8,535.61 billion, these exports of crude oil accounted for approximately 82.50% of all exports during that time.
With regard to crude oil exports in particular, they were ₦8,535.61 billion in Q3/2023—a significant increase of 70.52% over the amount that was recorded in Q2, 2023 (₦5,005.71 billion).
Furthermore, compared to ₦4,658.30 million for the same period in 2022, this amount represented an 83.23% increase.
Regarding other areas, the study showed that the value of energy goods exported in Q3, 2023 was ₦26.57 billion, demonstrating a noteworthy rise of 66.51% when compared to the value documented in Q2, 2023 (₦15.96 billion). Likewise, this figure increased by 85.10% from Q3, 2022 (₦14.36 billion), to this value.
Furthermore, the estimated value of exports of solid minerals in Q3, 2023 was ₦41.61 billion, indicating a 22.07% increase over the value recorded in Q2, 2023 (₦34.09 billion). This amount represented an 85.19% increase from ₦22.47 billion in the same quarter in 2022.
Nigeria, like many other countries on the continent, will lose money if it continues to export its crude oil in its unrefined form and import petroleum products from nations in Europe with steady refining capacities. The majority of Nigeria’s exports come from the oil and gas industry, which also provides the majority of the country’s income.
However, a number of issues, such as theft, vandalism, and supply chain instability, have prevented the nation from profiting from rising international prices.
Nigeria’s primary source of foreign exchange earnings is still oil exports, which limits the amount of available foreign exchange. Until this changes, the nation will continue to see volatility in this area.
Nigerians have been reassured by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited that the 53-year-old Port Harcourt refinery, which has been more or less idle, will be fully restored and operational by this month (December 2023).
By the end of 2024, the country will no longer be exporting crude oil to Europe in order to import petroleum products, which would raise prices for final consumers. Instead, the company guarantees that both the Kaduna and Warri refineries will be operational and that the nation will be a net exporter of petroleum products.
The management team of the Dangote refinery has also announced that it will begin refining operations this month. This is on top of the output from modular refineries like Waltersmith Petroleum Refinery, which has been active since 2020 and is looking to expand by 2025.
With a value of ₦1,810.99 billion, non-crude oil exports made up 17.50% of all exports, with non-oil products making up ₦677.57 billion, or 6.55%, of total exports.
