The Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported a significant increase in the country’s agricultural exports, rising by 123 percent to reach ₦463.97 billion in comparison to the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2023. This surge also represents a 270 percent growth compared to the first quarter (Q1) of 2023, which saw exports valued at ₦279.64 billion. The NBS’s latest ‘Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics’ for Q1 2024 highlighted that agricultural exports to Asia amounted to ₦572 billion, followed by ₦366 billion worth of exports to Europe.
Among the top exported agricultural products, Sesamum (benne) seeds led with a value of ₦247.75 billion, followed by superior quality cocoa beans at ₦231 billion, and standard quality cocoa beans at ₦140 billion. Specifically, Sesamum seeds worth ₦83.29 billion and ₦58.04 billion were shipped to China and Japan, respectively.
Superior quality cocoa beans valued at ₦112 billion and ₦48 billion were exported to the Netherlands and Malaysia, while standard quality cocoa beans worth ₦58 billion and ₦38 billion were sent to these countries.
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On the import side, agricultural goods brought into Nigeria in Q1 2024 totaled ₦920 billion, constituting 7.28 percent of total imports. This figure marks a 29.45 percent increase from Q4 2023’s ₦711 billion and a 95 percent rise from Q1 2023’s ₦471 billion. Key agricultural imports included durum wheat (not in seeds) from Canada, valued at ₦130 billion, and from Lithuania, valued at ₦99 billion. Additionally, blue whitings (a species of frozen fish) imported from the Netherlands were valued at ₦17 billion.
Overall, the total trade in agricultural goods for Q1 2024 amounted to ₦1.95 trillion, with exports comprising ₦1.035 trillion. The data underscores Nigeria’s growing agricultural trade, driven by substantial increases in both exports and imports.
