Nigeria’s crude oil exports plunged by N3.18 trillion within the first half of 2025, underlining the nation’s continued struggles with output ranges and international market shifts.
Knowledge from the overseas commerce statistics report by the Nationwide Bureau of Statistics (NBS) present crude oil exports fell to N24.92 trillion in H1 2025, in comparison with N28.10 trillion in the identical interval of 2024 and 11.3% decline in worth.
Additional evaluation confirmed that in Q1 2025, crude oil exports had been valued at N12.96 trillion, however this dropped additional to N11.97 trillion in Q2. Crude’s share of whole exports slid to 52.6% in Q2 2025, down sharply from 71.2% in Q2 2024. This marks a major erosion of oil’s dominance in Nigeria’s exterior commerce.
As crude nonetheless the principle supply of presidency income, the decline poses fiscal dangers at the same time as whole exports develop.
Non-crude exports on the rise
Whereas crude exports weakened, non-crude classes surged. Non-crude exports greater than doubled year-on-year, rising from N8.79 trillion in H1 2024 to N18.43 trillion in H1 2025.
Inside this, non-oil exports — resembling agricultural items and strong minerals — held regular at simply above N3 trillion throughout each quarters of 2025.
The largest positive factors got here from refined petroleum merchandise and semi-processed items, which helped push the share of non-crude exports to 41% of whole exports in H1 2025, in comparison with 24% a 12 months earlier.
Commerce surplus strengthens regardless of oil export decline
Regardless of the N3.18 trillion fall in crude exports, Nigeria posted a stronger commerce surplus in H1 2025. Complete exports stood at N43.35 trillion, whereas imports had been N30.71 trillion, leaving a surplus of N12.64 trillion — a 54.6% leap from the N8.17 trillion recorded in H1 2024.
Exports as a share of whole commerce rose from 55.9% in Q2 2024 to 59.8% in Q2 2025, highlighting how buoyant non-crude exports offset the oil droop. Imports, in the meantime, dipped barely by 0.9% in Q2, after a 7% decline in Q1, additional supporting the commerce stability.
What you must know
BusinessTimes earlier reported that Nigeria spent a complete of N4 trillion on gas imports within the first six months of 2025.
- In keeping with the Nationwide Bureau of Statistics (NBS) figures, the nation spent N2.3 trillion on gas imports in Q2 2025, following N1.76 trillion recorded in Q1. This brings the half-year whole to N4 trillion.
- For perspective, in the entire of 2024, Nigeria reported N15.4 trillion in gas import payments, a determine that strained overseas reserves and contributed considerably to naira volatility.
- Additionally, Nigeria recorded an upswing in its exterior commerce place within the second quarter of 2025, because the nation’s commerce surplus widened by 44.3% to N7.46 trillion, up from N5.17 trillion within the earlier quarter.
Nigeria’s whole exports stood at N22.75 trillion in Q2, a ten.5% enhance from Q1 and 28.4% increased than the identical interval in 2024. Imports, in contrast, slipped marginally by 0.9% quarter-on-quarter to N15.29 trillion. This dynamic created the broader surplus that has boosted Nigeria’s exterior account.
