Nigeria Records N5.54tn Trade Gap With Africa as Exports Hit N6.65tn
By Aboki Forex —
Nigeria's trade with African countries reached about N7.76 trillion in the second quarter of 2026, with exports of N6.65 trillion against imports of N1.10 trillion, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said. That leaves a trade gap of N5.54tn in Nigeria's favour across the continent.
Nigeria sold far more to the rest of Africa than it bought from the continent in Q2 2026. The NBS Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics for the quarter showed that total trade with African countries came to roughly N7.76 trillion.
Top African export destinations
Togo received the largest share of Nigerian exports at about N1.50 trillion. South Africa followed with N1.34 trillion, while Côte d'Ivoire took N1.22 trillion.
Ghana and Egypt ranked fourth and fifth, with exports worth N461.36 billion and N455.81 billion respectively. The five countries combined accounted for 74.75% of Nigeria's total exports to Africa.
Energy products drove the bulk of those shipments. Crude petroleum exports to African countries were valued at N3.23 trillion, or 48.58% of the total. Gas oil contributed N1.32 trillion. Kerosene-type jet fuel stood at N975.37 billion. Motor spirit came in at N416.78 billion. Urea exports were worth N147.54 billion.
Together, these five products made up 91.60% of all goods Nigeria exported to Africa in the quarter.
Libya leads Nigeria's African imports
On the import side, Libya supplied the most goods to Nigeria among African countries, with trade worth N305.69 billion. Ghana followed at N157.37 billion. Angola came next at N123.15 billion, South Africa at N113.54 billion and Cameroon at N63.13 billion.
Crude petroleum also dominated imports, accounting for N628.89 billion or 56.97% of everything Nigeria brought in from Africa. Crude palm oil followed at N68.46 billion. Other lubricating oil additives were valued at N26.99 billion.
ECOWAS trade jumps 77.2%
West Africa proved especially important to Nigeria's continental trade. Nigeria exported N3.82 trillion worth of goods to West African countries in the quarter and imported N280.66 billion from the subregion.
Trade with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) rose sharply, reaching about N4.02 trillion in Q2 2026. That was made up of exports worth N3.75 trillion and imports of N269.06 billion.
The figure marked a 77.2% jump from N2.27 trillion in Q1 2026. It more than doubled the N1.98 trillion recorded in Q2 2025.
Nigeria's wider merchandise trade also grew strongly in the quarter. Total exports climbed to N27.02 trillion, up 18.77% from Q2 2025 and 27.64% higher than Q1 2026. Imports fell 12.55% year-on-year to N14.42 trillion. That produced a trade surplus of N12.60 trillion, more than double the surplus seen a year earlier.
China remained Nigeria's single largest trading partner overall. ECOWAS climbed to third place among trading blocs, behind China and India.
Government pushes local processing
The Federal Government is seeking to discourage the export of raw materials without local processing, as part of efforts to promote value addition within Nigeria. The government said investors and exporters should process raw materials locally before shipping them to overseas markets.
The Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Dr Kingsley Udeh, made the remarks at a national advocacy and sensitisation conference organised by the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) in Abuja.
The Q2 numbers show Africa remains a major outlet for Nigerian energy exports, while imports from the continent are still concentrated in crude petroleum and palm oil. For Nigerian exporters, the ECOWAS jump points to stronger regional demand. The push for local processing could reshape what Nigeria sells abroad in the coming quarters.