Nigeria’s export base must be diversified – Expert

An Abuja-based financial expert, Dr. Uche Uwaleke has called for the urgent need for Nigeria’s export base to include in large proportion, other sectors of the economy apart from oil.

This is coming on the heels of the recent report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released in Abuja on the Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics for the second quarter of 2017.

Analysis of the report showed that Nigeria gained a total profit of N506bn from international trade in Q2 2017 which indicated an increase by 3.2% over the Q1 of 2017. The total imports value of N2.60 trillion in the Q2 2017 was 13.51 per cent higher than the first quarter and 9.97 per cent higher than second quarter of 2016. Similarly, the report highlighted that energy goods imports in Q2 2017 were 177.77 higher than Q1 2017 and manufactured goods imports value was 9.5 per cent higher in Q2 2017 than the level in Q1 2017, while other oil products imports value was 6.4 per cent lower than in Q1 2017

However, National Bureau of Statistics pointed that solid minerals exports decreased by -27.58 per cent in second quarter of 2017 compared to the first quarter of 2017 but were 122.01 higher than the value in the second quarter of 2016. Also, solid minerals exports value in Q2 2017, decreased by -27.58 per cent compared to Q1 2017 but was 122.01 per cent higher than Q2 2016. Also agricultural goods export value in Q2 2017 was -1.03 per cent lower than Q1 2017 but 94.05 per cent higher than Q2 2016.