Michael Eboh
Dublin, Ireland — Nigeria spent N11.85 trillion on the importation of petroleum products, including premium motor spirit (PMS) also known as petrol, in 2023, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The NBS, in its Foreign Trade Statistics for the Fourth Quarter of 2023 disclosed that fuel import for 2023 rose by 18.68 per cent when compared with the N10 trillion spent to import the commodity in 2022.
Specifically, the statistics agency stated that the country spent N7.512 trillion on PMS import, dropping by 2.51 per cent compared with N7.705 trillion fuel imported in 2022.
The NBS reported that petroleum products import accounted for 32.98 per cent of total import of N35.918 trillion in 2023, while PMS import accounted for 20.91 per cent of total imports.
Giving a breakdown of the amount spent on petroleum products import on a quarterly basis, the NBS stated that N3.343 trillion, N3.435 trillion, N2.227 trillion and N2.999 trillion worth of petrol were imported in the first, second, third and fourth quarter of 2023, respectively.
In comparison, the NBS reported that in the first, second, third and fourth quarter of 2022, the country spent N3.503 trillion, N2.441 trillion, N2.303 trillion and N1.878 trillion on fuel import, respectively.
In addition, in January, February, March, April, May and June 2023, the NBS noted that N1.089 trillion, N878.812 billion, N1.031 trillion, N912.636 billion, N774.579 billion and N539.908 billion, respectively, while in July, August, September, October, November and December 2023, the country spent N959.541 billion, N1.31 trillion, N1.165 trillion, N1.355 trillion, N1.177 trillion and N810.487 billion on fuel import, respectively.
In its analysis of fourth quarter data, the NBS reported that PMS import accounted for 12.81 per cent of total imports, ranking second on the most imported commodity, just after motorised tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, which cost the country N5.06 trillion to import.
Gas oil ranked third on the import list, as the country spent N1.196 trillion to import the commodity, while aviation fuel (kerosene) import gulped N239.175 billion, emerging the fourth most imported commodity in the fourth quarter.
Other major commodities imported in the fourth quarter include components of gas turbines – N117.425 billion and lubricating oils – N47.254 billion.
The NBS said: “In the fourth quarter of 2023, total imports increased by 56.04 per cent compared to the value recorded in the third quarter of 2023 (N9.041 trillion) and by 163.08 per cent when compared to the value recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2022 (N5.363 trillion).
“In terms of Imports (Cost, Insurance and Freight), the top five trading partners were Singapore with goods valued at N5.092 trillion or 36.09 per cent, China with N2.061 trillion or 14.61 per cent, Belgium with N1.141 trillion or 8.09 per cent, India with N908.59 billion or 6.44 per cent and The United States of America with goods valued at N512.99 billion or 3.64 per cent. The values of imports from the top five countries amounted to N9.716 trillion, representing a share of 68.86 per cent of total imports.”
