Nigeria agric imports hit N746bn in Q3 despite currency restriction

A total of N746 billion worth of agricultural products was imported into the country in the third quarter of 2015, despite currency restriction imposed on the manufacturers of some agricultural items.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) earlier imposed currency control to support the naira and the Nigeria ailing economy when it restricted some 41 items from forex.

Agricultural imports increased by N82 billion or 12.3 percent on a quarter-on quarter basis from N664 billion in Q2 to N746 billion in Q3 2015, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its latest foreign trade reports.

The balance of trade in the third quarter was N645 billion, down from N2.87 trillion in the third quarter a year ago, the report states.

The value of Nigeria’s imports stood at N1.68 trillion at the end of Q3, 2015, a decrease of N17.5 billion from N1.7 trillion recorded in the preceding quarter. On year-on-year basis, the value of the country’s imports decreased by N132.4billion or 7.3 percent.

Nigeria’s exports fell by 50.3 percent in the third quarter from a year ago and imports declined 7.3 percent, NBS said. The fall in crude oil exports, which accounted for 69.1 percent of total domestic exports this year, hit the economy the most.

“The sharp decline in exports and slight decrease in imports contributed to a continued fall in the country’s trade balance, by 32 percent,” the NBS said in a report.

According to the report, boilers, machinery and appliances recorded the highest import value in the agricultural products with N455.4 billion, followed by vegetable products with a value of N104.5 billion for the period.

Nigeria imported goods mostly from China, United States, Belgium, Netherlands and India, which respectively accounted for N459.4 billion or 27.9 percent; N160.6 billion or 9.5 per cent; N128.3 billion or 7.6 per cent; N101.8 billion or 6.0 per cent, and N97.4 billion or 5.8 per cent of the total value of goods imported during the third quarter. Intra African trade accounted for 3.9 percent of the total.

A total of N53.4 billion of agricultural products was exported in first quarter 2015.

Nigeria’s burgeoning economy has slammed on the brakes as a downward trend in crude prices struck Africa’s largest economy and top oil producer as the government seeks to diversify the economy through agriculture.

Despite that the country is gradually diversifying away from oil, agriculture has failed to still live up to its expectation as in the 60’s and 70’s when it was the country major foreign earner.