ABUJA — Nigeria recorded a ₦12.59 trillion merchandise trade surplus in the second quarter of 2026, according to fresh figures from the National Bureau of Statistics.
The country’s total merchandise trade reached ₦41.44 trillion between April and June.
Exports accounted for about ₦27.02 trillion, while imports stood at approximately ₦14.42 trillion.
The latest surplus represents a major increase from the ₦7.55 trillion recorded in the first quarter.
Crude oil remained Nigeria’s biggest export, generating about ₦12.91 trillion during the period.
The numbers look encouraging, but there is another side to the story.
Nigeria continues to depend heavily on oil and petroleum-related exports, while agricultural and manufactured exports remain much smaller.
Recent data also showed a significant decline in agricultural exports, raising questions about whether Nigeria is doing enough to diversify its sources of foreign exchange.
MONAFRIKA’S TAKE
A trade surplus is good news — but it is not yet time to celebrate.
Nigeria has been here before.
We have seen strong export figures when oil prices are favourable, only to face problems when global oil markets turn against us.
The real question is simple:
What are we exporting apart from oil?
Nigeria needs more locally made products that can compete across Africa and the world. Agriculture, manufacturing, technology, and creative industries should become bigger parts of the export story.
A ₦12.6 trillion surplus is impressive.
But a diversified ₦12.6 trillion surplus would be much more impressive.
0 COMMENTS
Leave a Reply