Imports Hit N67.4tn As Nigeria’s Trade Surplus Crashes 121% In Q4, 2025 1
By Oluyinka Onigbinde
Nigeria’s import bill rose sharply to N67.4 trillion in 2025 as the country’s trade surplus weakened significantly in the final quarter of the year, amid declining crude oil exports, fresh data released by the National Bureau of Statistics has shown.
According to the Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics Report for the fourth quarter of 2025, Nigeria’s trade surplus plunged by 121 per cent year-on-year to N1.71 trillion in Q4’25, compared to N3.42 trillion recorded in the corresponding period of 2024.
The report also revealed that on a quarter-on-quarter basis, the trade surplus declined by 71 per cent from N5.9 trillion in the third quarter of 2025, marking the second consecutive quarterly drop within the year.
Despite the sharp decline recorded in the final quarter, the country still posted an overall trade surplus of N17.8 trillion for the full year 2025, representing a 5.3 per cent increase over the N16.9 trillion recorded in 2024.
The NBS report showed that Nigeria’s total merchandise trade rose to N152.47 trillion in 2025, reflecting a 10.4 per cent increase from N138.03 trillion achieved in the previous year.
A breakdown of the figures indicated that total imports climbed by 11 per cent to N67.4 trillion in 2025 from N60.59 trillion in 2024, while exports grew by 9.9 per cent to N85.12 trillion from N77.44 trillion recorded a year earlier.
However, analysts attributed the weakening trade surplus in the final quarter largely to a reduction in crude oil export earnings, which continued to dominate Nigeria’s export structure.
The NBS stated that total merchandise trade for Q4’25 stood at N36.21 trillion, representing a 1.07 per cent decline from the N36.6 trillion recorded in the same period of 2024 and an 8.94 per cent drop compared to N39.77 trillion posted in the preceding quarter.
Exports during the quarter accounted for 52.36 per cent of total trade, valued at N18.9 trillion. This represented a 5.25 per cent decline from N20.01 trillion recorded in Q4’24 and a 16.88 per cent drop from N22.81 trillion in Q3’25.
Crude oil maintained its position as Nigeria’s highest export commodity during the period, accounting for N9.7 trillion or 51.17 per cent of total exports.
The report further disclosed that non-crude oil exports stood at N9.26 trillion, representing 48.8 per cent of total exports, while non-oil products contributed N3.14 trillion, accounting for 16.59 per cent of total exports.
On the import side, total imports for Q4’25 stood at N17.25 trillion, accounting for 47.64 per cent of total trade. This represented a 3.98 per cent increase from N16.59 trillion recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2024 and a 1.73 per cent increase from N16.96 trillion recorded in the third quarter of 2025.
Further analysis of the trade performance showed that Nigeria recorded steady growth in trade surplus in the first half of 2025, before the sharp reversal witnessed in the second half of the year.
Trade surplus rose from N3.9 trillion in the first quarter to N6.3 trillion in the second quarter, before declining to N5.9 trillion in Q3 and eventually dropping to N1.7 trillion in Q4.
Economic analysts say the figures underscore Nigeria’s continued vulnerability to fluctuations in crude oil earnings despite efforts to diversify exports and boost non-oil trade.
The persistent dependence on oil exports, coupled with rising import demand, they warned, could continue to expose the economy to external shocks and weaken trade stability if structural reforms are not accelerated.
