The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says Nigeria recorded a total merchandise trade of N34,788.59 billion in the first quarter of 2026.
This was contained in the NBS Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics Report for Q1 2026 released in Abuja on Monday.
The report showed a decrease compared to the value of N37,242,903.61 billion recorded in Q1 2025 and N36,214,343.98 billion recorded in Q4 2025.
It said total exports stood at N21,169.27 billion accounting for 60.85 per cent of total trade.
The report said total exports increased by 2.77 per cent compared to the amount recorded in Q1 2025 at N20,598.48 billion.
“Total exports in Q1 2026 increased by 11.63 per cent when compared to Q4 of 2025 which was recorded at N18,963.41 billion.”
It said in Q1 2026, Nigeria’s export trade continued to be dominated by crude oil exports valued at N11,202.35 billion which represented 52.92 per cent of total exports.
In the same vein, the NBS said the value of non-crude oil exports stood at N9,966.92 billion which represented 47.08 per cent of total exports in Q1 2026.
“Non-oil products contributed N3,186.74 billion or 15.05 per cent of total exports.”
The report said the top trading export partners in Q1 2026 were India, France, The Netherlands, Spain, and the United States of America.
It said the most exported commodities included crude oil, natural gas, urea (whether or not in aqueous solution), other petroleum gases in a gaseous state, and kerosene type jet fuel.
The report, however, said total imports stood at N13,619.33 billion accounting for 39.15 per cent of total trade in Q1 2026.
It said total imports decreased by 18.17 per cent compared to the value recorded in the first quarter of 2025 at N16,644.42 billion.
“Total imports decreased by 21.05 per cent when compared to the value recorded in Q4 2025 at N17,250.93 billion.”
The report said China remained Nigeria’s highest trading partner on the import side in Q1 2025, followed by India, the USA, the Netherlands, and the United Arab Emirates.
It said the most traded commodities imported in Q1 2026 were machinery and transport equipment (N5,011.21 billion), mineral fuels (N2,648.28 billion) and chemicals and related products (N2,020.71 billion).
The NBS said the merchandise trade balance for Q1 2026 remained positive at N7,549.94 billion, which showed an increase of 340.88 per cent compared to N1,712,475.97 billion in Q4 2024.
The bureau attributed the increase to a decline in petroleum products imports and an increase in crude oil exports.