Nigeria’s trade with fellow ECOWAS member states surged to ₦1.27 trillion in the first quarter of 2025, with Ivory Coast, Senegal, and Togo emerging as the country’s leading regional partners, according to the latest Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics report released by the National Bureau of Statistics.
Exports to ECOWAS countries stood at ₦1.07 trillion, while imports from the bloc amounted to ₦200.36 billion, resulting in a significant trade surplus for Nigeria. Ivory Coast led as the top destination for Nigerian goods, receiving ₦428.56 billion worth of exports, followed by Senegal with ₦346.26 billion and Togo with ₦134.80 billion. Ghana and Benin Republic rounded out the top five, bringing the combined share of these countries to nearly 97% of Nigeria’s total exports to ECOWAS.
Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals dominated Nigeria’s export basket to the region, accounting for ₦782.44 billion or 73.3% of total exports to ECOWAS. Other major export items included light fuel oil (₦66.32 billion), electrical energy (₦65.65 billion), other light oils and preparations (₦27.56 billion), and urea (₦24.26 billion). These top five products represented almost 88% of Nigeria’s exports to the bloc.
On the import side, Togo was Nigeria’s largest ECOWAS supplier, providing ₦132.31 billion in goods, followed by Ivory Coast (₦28.56 billion), Ghana (₦21.81 billion), Liberia (₦15.23 billion), and Mauritania (₦8.59 billion). Together, these countries accounted for nearly 97% of Nigeria’s imports from the region.
Refined petroleum products dominated Nigeria’s imports from ECOWAS, with motor spirit (ordinary) leading at ₦89.18 billion, followed by gas oil (₦23.15 billion), petroleum bitumen (₦20.58 billion), aviation spirit (₦17.51 billion), and light fuel oil (₦15.04 billion).
Trade with ECOWAS countries represented a substantial share of Nigeria’s total trade with Africa, with exports to the bloc accounting for 57.6% of Nigeria’s total exports to the continent and imports making up about 26% of total African imports. The trade balance remained strongly in Nigeria’s favor, underlining the country’s role as a key supplier of energy and industrial products within West Africa.
The Q1 2025 figures reinforce Nigeria’s position as the economic engine of ECOWAS, with petroleum and related products continuing to drive regional trade flows and shape economic relations across the sub-region.
