Boosted by Dangote Refinery Exports, Nigeria Leads W/Africa with $18.4bn Intra-African Trade

Nume Ekeghe

Nigeria emerged as the leading intra-African trading nation in West Africa in 2024, recording approximately $18.4 billion in trade with other African countries, a sharp rise from $8.1 billion in 2023.

This is according to the newly released African Trade Report 2025,published by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).

This more than two-fold increase in regional trade was driven largely by Nigeria’s crude oil exports and the growing momentum around refined petroleum products, following the operational launch of the Dangote Refinery, Africa’s largest located in Lagos.

The reported stated, “In West Africa, Nigeria emerged as the region’s largest intra-African trading country, as trade with the rest of Africa expanded to reach approximately $18.4 billion in 2024, up from just $8.1 billion in 2023. Crude oil remained Nigeria’s primary export to African markets, but there was growing momentum toward refined product exports following the operational launch of the Dangote Refinery.

“The refinery, Africa’s largest with a processing capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, began supplying petroleum products directly to Cameroon and other neighbouring markets. This development is expected to reduce dependency on intermediaries and foster regional energy integration.”

The report noted that while several smaller economies recorded strong export growth, Africa’s five largest economies, namely Algeria, Angola, Egypt, Nigeria, and South Africa, contributed significantly to the increase in the region’s exports.

It also stated, “These countries accounted for more than 56.6 per cent of the continent’s total exports in 2024. The exceptional growth in the exports of leading oil-producing countries, namely Angola 130.3 per cent and Nigeria 113 per cent, was a major driver of the continent’s impressive export performance during the review period.

 “Africa’s total merchandise imports also exhibited strong performance in 2024, with its growth accelerating to about 7.6 percent to $769 billion, from $714.7 billion in 2023. High import bills, driven largely by still elevated prices of food and energy, coupled with a strong US dollar, impacted African trade.

“Oil exporters saw their imports grow by a combined 16.1 percent to $178.6 billion, up from $153.8 billion in 2023. Nigeria 37.6 percent, Africa’s largest economy and leading oil exporter, and Algeria 6.1 per cent, one of the continent’s major economies and most important oil exporters, drove this growth. Other exporters, such as Chad 22.4 per cent and Libya 0.4 per cent, contributed to the import performance of oil exporters during the year.”