Nigeria reported a foreign trade deficit of N7.37tnin 2020, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Monday.
The NBS disclosed in its ‘Foreign trade statistics report for the fourth quarter of 2020’ that the total trade in 2020 stood at N32.42tn.
“The annual merchandise trade deficit in 2020 was recorded at N7.37tn,” the NBS stated.
The deficit was a result of a decline in Nigerian exports to 35 percent in Q4 2020 from 47 percent in 2019.
This alongside a record high of N5.92tn total imports in Q4 2020, pushed Nigeria’s trade deficit to its highest level and a fifth consecutive quarterly deficit at N2.73tn
The report read in part, “As the value of imports nearly doubled the value of exports, the trade deficit rose to its highest level and a fifth consecutive quarterly deficit at N2.73tn, an increase of 14.30 percent compared to the preceding quarter.”
