Nigeria’s African Exports Reach ₦4.9tn, Agriculture Trade Remains Low

News in Brief:

-Nigeria’s exports to African countries reached ₦4.9 trillion in Q3 2025, but trade remains heavily dominated by crude-related products, with agriculture playing a minimal role.

-Despite Africa’s agricultural potential, Nigeria exports most farm produce outside the continent while relying on imports for key food items.

The value of Nigeria’s exports to African countries rose to ₦4.9 trillion in the third quarter of 2025, according to a report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Imports from the continent stood at ₦595.00 billion within the same period, bringing total trade between Nigeria and African countries to about ₦5.49 trillion.

A breakdown of the data by commodity shows that crude derivatives dominated Nigeria’s exports to Africa, accounting for 39.57% of total exports. Notably, the top five export products, which together made up 86.08% of Nigeria’s total exports to African markets, were all within the same crude-related category.

Agricultural Trade Lags Despite Africa’s Production Potential

Nigeria’s imports from African countries followed a similar pattern, with crude-related products dominating trade flows. Only hides and skins, valued at ₦31.58 billion, and crude palm oil, valued at ₦30.08 billion, featured among the top five imports, together accounting for just 10.3% of total imports from Africa.

Analysts note that the low share of agricultural products in Nigeria’s intra-African trade highlights deeper challenges across the continent, including limited agricultural production capacity, weak value addition, and persistent barriers to cross-border trade.

Further data showed that Nigeria exported most of its agricultural products to Europe, valued at ₦444.22 billion, followed by Asia at ₦246.24 billion. On the import side, the country sourced a large portion of its food, particularly durum wheat, from the United States and Russia, valued at ₦164.39 billion and ₦100.61 billion, respectively. Frozen fish and meat were imported from Chile and the Faroe Islands, while crude palm oil worth ₦21.8 billion was sourced from Malaysia.