The most recent National Bureau of Statistics data reveal that Nigeria’s exports to India have dropped dramatically by a startling 61% in the last year.
According to The Times, in conjunction with the G20 summit that is currently taking place in India, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is leading a corporate delegation from Nigeria there for a business conference. The goal of the conference is to bring in foreign direct investment for the nation.
Nigeria’s largest export market in 2022 was India, but according to the latest data, it has fallen out of the top 5. In the third quarter of 2022, Spain replaced India as Nigeria’s largest export market.
Nigeria’s exports to India totaled N463.3 billion in the second quarter of 2023, ranking India as the country’s sixth-largest export market.
Nigeria’s trade exports to India hit N1 trillion over the same time period in 2022, making India Nigeria’s greatest export market at the moment.
India’s exports have been declining since the third quarter of 2022. Total exports fell to N619.2 billion in that quarter, and by the fourth quarter of 2022, they had further fallen to N490.4 billion.
From N2.1 trillion in the first half of 2022 to N849 billion in the first half of 2023, total exports to India have decreased by 61%.
However, a reduction was seen in the second half of 2022, with exports falling to N559.3 billion in the third quarter and N420.8 billion in the fourth.
Crude oil exports in the first and second quarters of 2023 fell to just N327.8 billion and N368.2 billion, respectively, as the downturn persisted.
Nigeria’s overall crude oil exports have been influenced by this general reduction in exports to India.
According to data, the first half of 2023 saw total crude oil exports of N10.6 trillion, down from N11.5 trillion in the corresponding period of 2022.
Due to the continuing Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Nigeria seems to have lost a significant portion of its export market share in India to Russia.
Russia’s crude oil is now more affordable due to the conflict, which may have led India to rely less on Nigeria’s crude oil supplies.
India is the third-largest oil consumer and importer in the world, importing around 84% of its crude oil needs.
As the fourth-largest LNG importer, India imports liquefied natural gas, which supplies around one-fourth of the country’s overall gas needs. Oil and natural gas are in greater demand throughout the nation.
The primary goal of President Tinubu’s tour to India has been to entice foreign direct investments into the country. To stabilize Nigeria’s foreign exchange inflows, it may be necessary to convince India to begin importing crude oil from Nigeria.
