Nigeria recorded a massive trade surplus of N12.60 trillion in the second quarter of 2026, driven by a sharp rise in exports, according to new data from the National Bureau of Statistics.
The NBS report titled “Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics Q2 2026” showed that Nigeria’s total merchandise trade stood at N41.44 trillion between April and June 2026. This represents a 5.61% increase compared to N39.24 trillion in Q2 2025 and a 19.13% jump from N34.79 trillion in Q1 2026.
Exports accounted for 65.20% of total trade at N27.02 trillion. That figure is up 18.77% year-on-year and 27.64% compared to the previous quarter. Imports dropped to N14.42 trillion, a 12.55% decline from N16.49 trillion recorded in Q2 2025.
Crude oil remained Nigeria’s biggest export earner with N12.91 trillion, making up 47.79% of all exports. This marks a 7.93% increase from Q2 2025 and 15.28% from Q1 2026. Other petroleum products also performed well, rising 34.08% year-on-year to N10.38 trillion. Non-crude oil exports stood at N14.11 trillion, while non-oil products contributed N3.73 trillion.
India emerged as Nigeria’s top export destination with N3.29 trillion worth of goods. Spain, the Netherlands, the United States, and Togo followed. The five countries accounted for 38.51% of total exports.
On the import side, China continued to dominate as Nigeria’s largest supplier, providing goods worth N5.92 trillion or 41.02% of total imports. The US, India, the Netherlands, and Germany also featured among the top five. Machinery and transport equipment led imports at N5.46 trillion, followed by chemicals and manufactured goods.
Agricultural exports declined sharply to N802.99 billion, down 36.09% from N1.26 trillion in Q2 2025. Cashew nuts led the sector at N268.62 billion, followed by cocoa beans and sesame seeds.
In contrast, raw material exports jumped 181.24% year-on-year to N2.31 trillion. Urea was the biggest contributor at N1.07 trillion, mostly exported to the United States. Solid mineral exports also rose 90.03% to N146.91 billion. Manufactured goods exports dropped 51.10% year-on-year to N393.03 billion, though it improved by 29.87% compared to Q1 2026.
The federal government has continued to push for local processing of raw materials before export. The Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Dr. Kingsley Udeh, recently said the government wants Nigerians to benefit more from value addition and job creation.