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The National Bureau of Statistics has reported that the country’s trade balance remained positive in the first quarter of 2017 owing to rising exports and falling imports.

The statistics agency said Nigeria’s trade balance – which is the difference between the country’s exports and imports – rose to N719.4 billion in Q1 2017 compared with N671.3 billion in the previous quarter.

“This represents the second consecutive positive trade balance after four quarters of negative trade balance,” the NBS said. “The value of exports increased by 0.9 percent compared to the previous quarter, while imports fell by 0.9 percent relative to the value recorded in the preceding quarter.”

The total value of Nigeria’s merchandise trade rose 0.1 percent to N5.2924 trillion in Q1 2017 compared with N5.2866 trillion in the previous quarter. During the period under review, total exports stood at N3.0059 trillion while total imports stood at N2.2865 trillion.

Crude oil exports remained the main driver of export earnings during the quarter, rising 110.7 percent year-on-year to account for 79.1 percent of total export earnings. The huge rise in oil export earnings was due to higher Brent crude prices as well as the significant depreciation in the naira.

Non-oil exports earnings, which excludes crude and other oils, stood at N170.7 billion, an increase of 121.5 percent year-on-year and 31.7 percent quarter-on-quarter. Agriculture exports lifted non-oil export earnings, as the sector rose by 82 percent quarter-on-quarter to N30 billion. The agricultural commodities that were exported include sesame seeds, soya bean, frozen shrimps & prawns and cashew nuts amongst others.

Manufactured goods exports rose 45.4 percent quarter-on-quarter to N98.2 billion; raw materials exports stood at N16.5 billion; solid minerals (majorly cement) at N4.2 billion; and energy at N723 million.

Nigeria’s imports were made up chiefly of manufactured goods (46.5 percent of total) valued at N1.06 trillion and included heavy machinery such as gas turbines, vehicles & motorcycles and steel. On the other hand, imported refined crude products, including petrol, kerosene, and lubricants made up 33.1 percent of total imports and totalled N757.3 billion.

The country’s top three import sources were China, with an import value of N383.9 billion (16.8 percent of total imports), Belgium at N340.2 billion (14.9 percent of total imports) and Netherlands at N246.9 billion (10.8 percent of total imports).

Top exports destinations were India, the United States and Spain which accounted for 22.2 percent (N668.6 billion), 13.9 percent (N416.5 billion) and 10.8 percent (N324.9 billion) of total exports respectively. Total trade with other African countries stood at N729.1 billion.