Total trade in goods and services between the United Kingdom (UK) and Nigeria was £7.6 billion in the first quarter, an increase of 48.4 per cent or £2.5 billion from the record of the fourth quarter of 2022, the U.K’s Department of Trade and Business has said.
Nigeria accounted for £4.3 billion, an increase of 31.6 per cent or £1 billion, compared to Q4 2022 while total UK imports from Nigeria amounted to £3.3 billion, an increase of 78.1 per cent or £1.4 billion, compared to Q4 2022.
Nigeria was the UK’s 37th largest trading partner accounting for just 0.4 per cent of total UK trade. In 2021, the outward stock of foreign direct investment (FDI) from the UK to Nigeria was £3.4 billion, accounting for 0.2 per cent of the total UK outward FDI stock.
In 2021, the inward stock of FDI to the UK from Nigeria was £806 million.
Of all UK exports to Nigeria, £1.4 billion (32.9 per cent) were goods and £2.9 billion (67.1 per cent) were services. At the end of Q1 2023, UK exports of goods to Nigeria decreased by 19.7 per cent or £346 million, compared to the Q4 of 2022 while UK exports of services to Nigeria increased by 91.7 per cent or £1.4 billion
For Q1 of 2023, total UK imports from Nigeria stood at £3.3 billion (an increase of 78.1 per cent or £1.4 billion, compared to Q4 of 2022). Of all UK imports from Nigeria in Q1 2023, £2.2 billion (66.6 per cent) were goods and £1.1 billion (33.4 per cent) were services.
In the same period, UK imports of goods from Nigeria increased by 76.3 per cent or £949 million, compared to Q4 of 2022, while UK imports of services from Nigeria increased by 81.8 per cent or £494 million in the same Q4 of last year.
This means the UK reported a total trade surplus of £994 million with Nigeria, compared to a trade surplus of £1.4 billion in Q4 of 2022. At the end of Q1 2023, the UK had a trade-in goods deficit of £781 million with Nigeria, compared to a trade-in goods surplus of £514 million for the same quarter.
MEANWHILE, the report added that at the end of Q1 2023, the UK reported a trade in services surplus of £1.8 billion with Nigeria, compared to a trade in services surplus of £895 million in Q4 of 2022.
Data for trade in goods only, showed that UK exports of goods to Nigeria decreased by 17.4 per cent in the last year, compared to the same period in 2021 while UK imports of goods from Nigeria increased by 10.7 per cent over the same period.
The top five goods exported from the UK to Nigeria at the end of Q1 of 2023 were Refined oil (£741.9 million or 52.6 per cent); Textile fabrics (£50.7 million or 3.6 per cent); Toilet and cleansing preparations (£49.6 million or 3.5 per cent); Mechanical power generators (£34.7 million or 2.5 per cent) and General industrial machinery (£32.5 million or 2.3 per cent).
The top five goods imported to the UK from Nigeria in the period under review include Crude oil (£1.0 billion or 47.7 per cent); refined oil (£611.8 million or 27.9 per cent); Gas (£475.4 million or 21.7 per cent); Metal ores and scrap (£8.3 million or 0.4 per cent) and Scientific instruments (£5.2 million or 0.2 per cent).
The total UK market share in Nigeria was 7.0 per cent in 2022 for goods and services. This is an increase of 1.2 per cent from 2021. In 2021, around 3,900 UK VAT-registered businesses exported goods to Nigeria while just 500 UK VAT-registered businesses imported goods from the country.
