Despite putting the African Continental Free commerce Area (AfCFTA) agreement into effect in 2021, Nigeria’s commerce with other African nations has not yet returned to pre-COVID-19 levels.
Nigeria’s commerce with other African countries is slowly recovering, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics’ (NBS) most recent international trade report.
While there has been an upward trend since the epidemic low, trade volumes have not yet surpassed the peak before COVID-19, which raises questions about how well the AfCFTA agreement has sparked a strong trade rebound.Â
According to a breakdown analysis, N1.11 trillion was traded in goods in 2019, while N3.92 trillion was traded out, for a total of N5.03 trillion in trade.
Based on information provided by the NBS, this time frame marks the pinnacle of Nigerian commerce on the continent.
But the year 2020 arrived, and the worldwide epidemic that followed caused a significant disturbance that showed up as a sharp decline in trade. The value of imports fell to N406.88 billion, a dramatic decrease from the year before.
Exports fell to N2.37 trillion, although being less impacted, bringing the overall commerce down to N2.78 trillion. This indicates a drop in economic connections and a disruption of supply systems throughout the continent.Â
The following year, 2021, signaled the start of a recovery, if gradual. A slight recovery in exports to N2.41 trillion was accompanied by a rise in imports to N551.31 billion.
Trade reached N2.96 trillion overall, indicating a recovery in motion but still a long way to go.
2022 saw a rise in imports to N738.26 billion and exports to N2.66 trillion, bringing the total value of commerce to N3.4 trillion. The track suggested that trade stability will return gradually.
The most recent 2023 data demonstrates an increase, with N4.61 trillion in total trade coming from N3.71 trillion in exports and N896.05 billion in imports.
Even while this growth is remarkable, comparing it to the 2019 baseline shows that the recovery of around N420 billion is still not complete.
Nigeria’s imports haven’t kept up with its exports, which are gradually approaching the 2019 amount. This is probably because of the nation’s foreign exchange issue.
Subsequent investigation reveals that in 2023, 52% of Nigeria’s commerce with African nations will come from nations that are members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Nigeria traded N2.41 trillion with the ECOWAS in total in 2023, not far from the N2.46 trillion registered in 2019.
The data additionally reveals that although Nigeria’s export levels to ECOWAS nations have approached pre-COVID-19 levels at approximately N2.24 trillion, it still lags behind its import levels by approximately N47.51 billion. It imported over N168.28 billion from ECOWAS nations by 2023, compared to N215.79 billion in 2019.
