Victor Ezeja
Nigeria spends not less than $3 billion monthly only on imports, an analysis of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) report has shown.
In a communiqué issued by the CBN Governor, Dr Olayemi Cardoso, at the end of the 297th Monetary Policy Committee meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, 24th September, the apex bank said the external reserve stood at $39.07 billion as at 19th September 2024. It said this is an increase of 17.4 per cent compared with US$33.28 billion in the corresponding period of 2023.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThis figure, according to the Central Bank, represents eight months of import cover for goods and services, and 13 months of imports of goods only.
“The external reserve stood at US$39.07 billion as at 19th September 2024 an increase of 17.4 per cent compared with US$33.28 billion in the corresponding period of 2023. This represents 8 months of import cover for goods and services and 13 months of imports of goods only,” part of the communiqué read.
Analysis of the statement means that Nigeria currently spends about $3 billion a month on imports only.
Being an import-dependent economy over the years, Nigeria spends more on importation of various items including petroleum products, gas, chemicals, agricultural products, and other raw materials for industries in the country.
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, had in an interview last month, said Nigeria currently spends $600 million on fuel importation monthly. This represents 20 per cent of the $3 billion as gleaned from the CBN report.
Though the latest Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics report for second quarter (Q2) of 2024 released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), showed that Nigeria recorded trade surplus as exports rose year-on-year by 201.76 per cent, previous reports indicated deficits as imports were mother than exports.
The Q4 2023 foreign trade report revealed that there was a deficit. Out of the total trade valued at ₦26,801.95 billion, imports amounted to ₦14,108.33 billion, while exports were ₦12,693.62 billion.
READ ALSO: Nigeria Records N6.95trn Trade Surplus In Q2 Despite Decline In Imports
The Q2 2024 report revealed that Nigeria’s total merchandise trade stood at N31,892.46 billion in Q2, 2024. Out of this, exports accounted for 60.89 per cent of total trade with a value of N19,418.93 billion, indicating a marginal increase of 1.31 per cent compared to the value recorded in Q1 2024 (N19,167.36) and a 201.76 per cent rise over the value recorded in the second quarter of 2023 (N6,435.13).
However, while the nation hail the trade surplus, the NBS report showed that crude oil exports dominated Nigeria’s export trade in Q2 2024 as the value of N14,559.56 billion represented 74.98 per cent of total export, while non crude oil exports valued at N4,859.37 billion, accounted for 25.02 per cent. In the non-crude oil export category, non-oil products contributed N1,944.25 billion or 10.01 per cent of total exports.
The report showed that agricultural goods exports in Q2 2024 decreased by 5.93 per cent from ₦1,035.02 billion in Q1 2024 to ₦973.69 billion in Q2 2024.
This reinforces the calls by experts for more efforts towards economic diversification as the country cannot continue to rely on crude oil exports as major source of earning foreign exchange.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
