Statistician-General of the Federation and Chief Executive Officer, National Bureau of Statistics, Dr. Yemi Kale
The
National Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday released the nation’s
foreign trade statistics for 2014 with merchandise trade rising by
N3.17tn or 14.9 per cent from N21.26tn in 2013 to N24.43tn at the end of
last year.
The bureau stated in the report that the
increase in trade arose from a sharp rise of 20.8 per cent in the value
of exports from N14.24tn in 2013 to N17.20tn in 2014.
The report explained that a slight
increase of N215.6bn, which amounted to only three per cent rise in
imports, also contributed to the favourable trade balance of N9.97tn
recorded in 2014.
It stated, “The total value of Nigeria’s
external merchandise trade at the end of Q4 2014 was N5.74tn. This was
11.9 per cent lower than the value of N6.51tn recorded in the preceding
quarter.
“At the end of 2014, Nigeria’s external
trade stood at N24.435tn. This was N3.174tn or 14.9 per cent greater
than the value recorded in 2013.”
The NBS report added that trade according
to economic regions indicated that Nigeria consumed goods largely from
Asia, with import value of N3.14tn or 43.5 per cent.
The country, the report stated, also
imported goods valued at N2.43tn or 33.7 per cent from Europe, and
N1.04tn or 14.4 per cent from America.
It said the import trade within Africa
was N522bn or 7.2 per cent, while imports from the Economic Community of
West African States region amounted to N46.1bn.
In terms of export, the report said on
annual basis, the Nigeria’s total exports stood at 17.20tn at the end of
2014, representing a rise of N2.95tn or 20.8 per cent over the level in
2013.
It stated, “The structure of Nigeria’s
export is still dominated by crude oil exports. The contribution of
crude oil to the value of total domestic export trade amounted to
N12.79tn or 74.4 per cent in 2014.
“Exports by section revealed that the
highest export product for Nigeria in 2014 was mineral products, which
accounted for N15.71tn or 91.4 per cent.
“Other products that contributed
immensely to Nigeria’s exports include vehicles, aircraft and parts;
vessels and products of chemical and allied industries, whose value
stood at N357.7bn or 2.1 per cent, and N315.6bn or 1.8 per cent,
respectively of the total exports of Nigeria for the year.”
Meanwhile, the NBS, in its employment
report, which was also released on Wednesday, stated that the economy
created 1.2 million jobs in 2014.
The jobs were created in the formal, informal sectors and public institutions.
A breakdown of the jobs created showed
that 240,871 were created in the first quarter, while 259,353; 349,343
and 369,485 jobs were created in the second, third and fourth quarters,
respectively.