Ike Amos
Abuja — Nigeria’s gas export dipped by 39.92 per cent to N309.24 billion in the second quarter of 2020, compared to N514.75 billion recorded in the first quarter of 2020, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The NBS, in its Foreign Trade Statistics for the Second Quarter of 2020, stated that gas accounts for 13.93 per cent of Nigeria’s total export in the period under review.
Giving a breakdown of Nigeria’s gas export in the second quarter of 2020, the NBS disclosed that the country exported N278.43 billion of Liquefied Natural gas (LNG); N25.96 billion of other petroleum gas and N4.85 billion of liquefied butanes.
In comparison, in the first quarter of 2020, the export of LNG, other petroleum gases and liquefied butanes fetched the country N480.25 billion, N27.06 billion and N7.44 billion respectively.
The NBS also stated that Nigeria earned N1.55 trillion from crude oil export in the quarter under review, dropping by 47.28 per cent compared with N2.94 trillion crude oil export recorded in the first quarter of 2020.
Crude oil export, the NBS noted, accounted for 70.01 per cent of Nigeria’s total export in the second quarter of 2020, with The Netherlands emerging the highest buyer of Nigeria’s crude oil in the second quarter, with N221.68 billion; followed by China, with the purchase of N189.91 billion worth of Nigeria’s crude oil; while South Africa purchased N171.78 billion crude oil from Nigeria.
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Nigeria also exported crude oil valued at N147.61 billion, N133.98 billion, N68.94 billion and N67.38 billion to India, Spain, Togo and Indonesia respectively in the second quarter of 2020.
The NBS further stated that in the second quarter of 2020, Nigeria spent N87.08 billion on fuel import; while N1.003 trillion was spent in the first quarter, according to the updated figure provided by the NBS.
This was in comparison with N190.78 billion spent on fuel import in the first quarter of 2019, and N575.28 billion spent in the second quarter of 2019.
Petrol import, according to the NBS reports, accounted for 2.16 per cent of Nigeria’s total imports in the second quarter of 2020, the fourth largest import in the second quarter, topped by used vehicles import, which gulped N198.4 billion and accounting for 4.93 per cent of total imports; durum wheat import, which accounted for 4.01 per cent of total imports with N161.35 billion and motorcycles import, which accounted for 2.29 per cent of total imports in the second quarter, with N92.09 billion.
