NIGERIA’s merchandise trade balance for the third quarter of 2024 stood at N5.81 trillion, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has reported.

The statistics office disposed of this in the latest ‘Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics’ data it released on Friday, December 6.

It shows that total exports stood at N20.49 trillion and total imports at N14.67 trillion, resulting in a surplus of N5.81 trillion in the third quarter.

Analysis of the report indicates that the trade surplus rose by 43.60 per cent compared to N4.05 trillion recorded in the second quarter.

According to NBS, Nigeria’s total merchandise trade stood at N35.16 trillion in the third quarter relative to N31.04 trillion in the second quarter.

In the review quarter, exports accounted for 58.27 per cent of total trade with a value of N20.49 trillion compared to N17.55 trillion in the second quarter.

The data shows that export trade continued to be dominated by crude oil exports valued at N13.41 trillion, representing 65.44 per cent of total exports.

During the period, non-crude oil exports trade stood at N7.08 trillion, accounting for 34.56 per cent of total exports.

According to NBS, the top five destinations for export were Spain, the United States, France, the Netherlands, and Italy.

On the other hand, the share of imports trade accounted for 41.73 per cent of total trade valued at N14.67 trillion.

This shows that the value of imports rose compared to N13.497 trillion reported in the second quarter.

China, India, Belgium, the United States, and Malta topped destinations for imports were the top five destinations, NBS stated.

However, the N882.24 billion value of agricultural goods imported in the review quarter decreased by 1.23 per cent compared to the N893.25 billion recorded in the second quarter.

Also, the N884.07 billion value of exports of agricultural goods declined by 9.20 per cent compared to N973.69 billion reported in the second.

In the same vein, Nigeria also recorded a decrease in the imports of solid minerals. It declined from N96.80 billion in the second quarter to N93.23 billion in the third quarter.

The value of other oil products imported in the third quarter at N5.14 trillion declined 5.73 per cent from N5.45 trillion in the second quarter.

The ICIR reported in September this year that Nigeria’s imports rose significantly by 97.93 per cent to N12.47 trillion.

China was the top spot among the country’s trade partners in imports, while Spain overtook France in exports.