Foreign Trade Declines to N8.30tn in Q1

Foreign Trade Declines to N8.30tn in Q1

By James Emejo

The value of the country’s total merchandise trade declined to N8.30 trillion in the first quarter of the year (Q1 2020), representing a contraction of about 17.94 per cent compared to N10.12 trillion recorded in Q4 2019.

However, trade was 0.80 per cent higher than the N8.24 trillion posted Q1, 2019, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

It noted that the drop in trade occurred against the backdrop of a global slowdown in economic activity as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The NBS said: “The global health crisis resulted in several countries implementing varying degrees of restrictions with respect to international trade, travel and tourism.”

According to the Foreign Trade Statistics – Q1 2020 — which was released Tuesday, the decline in Q1 was particularly tied to the drop in both imports and exports as the former surpassed the latter.

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