Nigeria’s external trade picked up in the third quarter of 2025, with a steady rise in imports matching a rebound in exports, leaving the country with another positive trade balance, though the surplus narrowed slightly.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) show that total merchandise trade reached N38.94 trillion, marking a modest increase from both the previous quarter and the same period last year.
The growth was driven largely by stronger crude oil shipments and a surge in non-oil raw material exports.
Exports accounted for nearly three-fifths of total trade, valued at N22.81 trillion. Crude oil remained the dominant export, contributing over half of all shipments, while non-oil exports, totaling N2.99 trillion, provided a smaller but increasingly significant contribution.
India remained Nigeria’s largest export destination, followed by Spain, France, the Netherlands, and Italy, which together absorbed more than a third of all outbound shipments.
However, agricultural exports declined sharply. Cocoa beans, natural cocoa butter, cashew nuts, and sesame seeds were top performers, but overall agricultural shipments fell by over a third from the previous quarter.
Manufactured exports fared slightly better, boosted by strong sales of light-vessels and maritime equipment, primarily to West Africa and Greece.
Imports rose to N16.12 trillion, with China remaining Nigeria’s main supplier, followed by the United States and India. The country increased purchases of raw materials and agricultural goods, while imports of other petroleum products fell sharply. Key agricultural imports included wheat from the U.S. and Russia, mackerel from Chile and the Faroes, and palm oil from Malaysia, reflecting continued domestic food pressures.
Trade within Africa remained robust. Nigeria exported N4.90 trillion worth of goods to the continent, almost eight times the value of imports.
Major buyers included Ivory Coast, Ghana, South Africa, Togo, and Senegal, with ECOWAS countries alone taking in N3.14 trillion.
Maritime routes dominated Nigeria’s trade logistics. Nearly all exports, N22.46 trillion, left via sea, while Apapa and Lekki ports handled more than 90 percent of export transactions and over half of imports, reinforcing their central role in Nigeria’s external trade.
The report highlights a gradual diversification of Nigeria’s export basket, with non-oil and manufactured goods increasingly supplementing crude oil, even as agricultural shipments face seasonal and structural challenges.