Business
Nigeria Records ₦12.59tn Trade Surplus in Q2 2026
Nigeria recorded a ₦12.59 trillion merchandise trade surplus in the second quarter of 2026, with exports rising strongly while imports declined compar...
By Wavers Multimedia
The latest Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics showed that Nigeria’s merchandise trade balance stood at ₦12.596 trillion, representing a 101.32 per cent increase from the corresponding quarter of 2025.
Total merchandise trade reached ₦41.44 trillion during the quarter, up 5.61 per cent from ₦39.24 trillion in Q2 2025 and 19.13 per cent from ₦34.79 trillion recorded in Q1 2026.
Exports accounted for 65.20 per cent of total trade, valued at ₦27.02 trillion. This represented an 18.77 per cent increase from ₦22.75 trillion in Q2 2025 and a 27.64 per cent rise from ₦21.17 trillion in Q1 2026.
Crude oil remained Nigeria’s largest individual export, valued at ₦12.91 trillion, representing 47.79 per cent of total exports. However, non-crude oil exports collectively recorded a higher value of ₦14.10 trillion, accounting for 52.21 per cent of exports.
Other oil products also recorded strong growth, reaching ₦10.38 trillion, while non-oil products accounted for ₦3.72 trillion, representing 13.80 per cent of total exports.
On the import side, Nigeria recorded ₦14.42 trillion worth of imports in Q2 2026. This was 12.55 per cent lower than the ₦16.49 trillion recorded in Q2 2025, although imports increased by 5.91 per cent compared with the previous quarter.
China remained Nigeria’s largest source of imports, supplying goods worth about ₦5.91 trillion, equivalent to 41.02 per cent of total imports. The United States followed with about ₦1 trillion, while India supplied ₦924.46 billion.
India emerged as Nigeria’s largest export destination during the quarter, receiving goods worth ₦3.29 trillion, followed by Spain with ₦1.98 trillion, the Netherlands with ₦1.90 trillion, the United States with ₦1.73 trillion and Togo with ₦1.50 trillion.
Despite the strong overall export performance, agricultural exports weakened significantly. Their value fell to ₦802.99 billion, representing a 36.09 per cent decline from Q2 2025. Meanwhile, exports of solid minerals and raw materials recorded substantial growth during the quarter.
The latest figures show a significant improvement in Nigeria’s external trade position, driven by stronger exports and a decline in imports compared with the same period last year. However, the continued importance of crude oil and other petroleum-related products shows that the country’s export earnings remain heavily influenced by the energy sector.