Nigeria’s total imports from Malta N766.81 billion in the third quarter of 2024, according to the National Bureau of Statistics foreign trade report.
Nigeria’s total imports from Malta reached N766.81 billion in the third quarter of 2024, according to the National Bureau of Statistics foreign trade report.
While the specific products imported from Malta were not disclosed, the sharp increase in imports had sparked controversy.
Earlier, the chairman of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, had accused the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited in relation to the surge.
Findings showed that there was no record of import from Malta in the first and second quarters of 2024.
In Q3 2024, imports from Malta made up 5.23% of Nigeria’s total imports, which amounted to N14.67 trillion.
According to the NBS, Malta was Nigeria’s fifth-largest import partner during this period.
The report read, “Analysis by trading partners reveals that imports from China were valued at N3,574.79 billion, representing 24.36% of total imports. This was followed by imports from India with N1,662.68 billion (11.33% of total imports), Belgium with imports valued at N1,632.89 billion or 11.13% of total imports, United States of America with goods valued at N1,024.44 billion (6.98% of total imports) and goods from Malta valued at N766.81 billion or 5.23% of total imports.”
Notably, the N766.81 billion recorded in Q3 2024 is the highest value of imports from Malta on record.
This amount represents 74.1% of Nigeria’s total imports from Malta in the first three quarters of 2023.
The significant increase may be largely attributed to the devaluation of the naira, which has raised the value of imports in naira terms.
It was earlier reported that Nigeria’s total imports from Malta surged from zero to approximately N1.03 trillion in 2023, according to NBS foreign trade data.
A review of the NBS reports reveals that Nigeria’s total imports for 2023 amounted to N35.92 trillion, with imports from Malta accounting for about 2.87% of the total.
This is notable considering there was no record of any international trade between Nigeria and Malta in 2022.
