Nigeria’s crude oil exports reportedly jumped to N5.6trn in the first quarter of 2022, reflecting a nearly 200 percent increase when compared to the same period in 2021.
This is coming amid increasing calls for diversification of the economy.
The figures, as seen in the Foreign Trade Report of the National Bureau of Statistics, said Nigeria’s total merchandise trade stood at N13 trillion in the first quarter of 2022, indicating an increase of 11.05 percent over the value recorded in the fourth quarter of 2021 and 65.41 percent higher when compared to the value recorded in the first quarter of 2021.
The export trade in the quarter under review stood at N7.1 trillion, showing a rise of 23.1 percent over the value recorded in the preceding quarter and also an increase of 137.9 percent over the corresponding period of the preceding year.
The latest figures by the NBS show a 194 percent increase in Nigeria’s crude oil exports when compared to the first quarter of 2021 (N1.9trn).
Speaking on the causes of the sharp increase in the amount of exported crude within one year, an energy expert, Bala Zaka, said the numbers did not necessarily mean an increase in the volume of exports.
According to him, factors such as the Russia-Ukraine war had led to a significant rise in the price of oil in the international market; and, as a result, oil revenue had increased far above the projected benchmark when the year began.
