Africa accounts for 10% of Nigeria’s N101.74trn trade in 5yrs

Nigeria has done transactions worth N10.31 trillion with Africa in the last five years, translating to 10.13 per cent of the country’s total global trade of N101.74 trillion within the same period.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that the value of Nigeria’s total trade with Africa from 2013 to 2017 is N30.97 trillion less than the value recorded with Europe within the same period, giving credence to concerns that African countries are trading less in Africa than with other continents.

Data analysis of the country’s trade with the continents of Africa, Americas, Europe, Asia and Oceania in the last four years shows that Nigeria trades more with America, Europe and Asia than she does with Africa and Oceania.

In the last five years, Nigeria transacted businesses worth N41.28 trillion with European countries, including Germany, UK, Netherlands, Italy, Spain and France.

Nigeria’s total trade with Europe is 40.57 per cent of the country’s total trade with the world within the last five years.

Data analysis also showed that Nigeria trades more with the American continent than with Africa as total trade with America was N15.93 trillion within the period, being 15.66 per cent of the country’s total global trade value in the last five years.

Nigeria’s trade value with Americas, comprising USA, Canada and Brazil, is half of the country’s total trade with Asia, comprising of Japan, India, China and others.

In the last five years, Nigeria recorded total trade value of N31.87 trillion with Asia, translating to 31.32 per cent of Nigeria’s total global trade within the period.

Oceania, with a total trade value of N2.36trn with Nigeria, is the country’s least trading continent, followed by Africa.

A breakdown of Nigeria’s trade with the world in the last five years shows that Nigeria exported goods worth N62.27 trillion and imported goods worth N39.47 trillion.

Analysis shows that N2.33 trillion worth of the imports were from Africa, N5.10 trillion from Americas, N16.43 trillion from Europe, N14.88 trillion from Asia while N823.22 billion came from Oceania.

N7.98trn of Nigeria’s export within the period went to Africa, N10.83 trillion to Americas, N24.94 trillion to Europe, N16.99 trillion to Asia while N1.54trn to Oceania.

The African Union (AU) is rattled by low intra-African trade over the years, a development that led to the birth of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, Free Movement Protocol and a quest for a single currency for the continent.

Nigeria has refused to sign both the AfCFTA and the Free Movement Protocol at the recent 10th Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union held in Kigali on the grounds that the free trade arrangement within the continent will hurt the country’s industrial sector.

The AfCFTA is meant to increase the value and volume of trade among African countries while Free Movement Protocol and a single currency for the continent are meant to eliminate two major intra-continental trade barriers in Africa.

While Nigeria is dragging foot on free trade pacts within Africa, other continents are pushing to deepen their trade relations with the country.

The European Union is pushing for a free trade deal between Africa, including Nigeria, with the Union, to be sealed with a pact known as the Economic Partnership Agreement, a pact Nigeria has also refused to sign.

Recently, President Muhammadu Buhari told the head of delegation of the European Union to Nigeria, Ketil Iversen Karlsen, that Nigeria is not eager to sign the EPA.

“We are not enthusiastic about signing the EPA because of our largely youthful population. We are still struggling to provide jobs for them, and we want our youths to be kept busy.

“Presently, our industries cannot compete with the more efficient and highly technologically driven industries in Europe. We have to protect our industries and our youths,” the president said.