The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said in the third quarter of 2023 (Q3 2023), Nigeria’s all-import index soared by 0.21 per cent owing to the import prices from Europe, Asia, America and Africa.
This was contained in the Bureau’s document tagged: “Commodity Price Indices Terms of Trade (Q3 2023).”
The report said: “All Region Import Price Index increased by 0.21 per cent point between July and September 2023. This was due to import prices from Europe (+0.23), Asia (+0.22), America (+0.10), and Africa (+0.05) with Oceania (-0.04) recording a decline in the price of goods imported from the region.”
NBS said the monthly import price changes showed an increase of (0.11) per cent points in August and (0.09) per cent points in September 2023.
According to the report, between July and August this year, the All-Region Import Index recorded a monthly increase of 0.11 per cent.
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The report said the contributions, according to regions, were Europe (+0.17), Asia (+0.08), Africa (+0.02), America (+0.01) and Oceania (-0.05) contributing negatively to the price change.
NBS also said the All-Commodity Group Export Index increased by 0.18 per cent between July and September 2023.
The report noted that this was due to changes in the prices of boilers, machinery, and appliances; parts thereof (0.36), vehicles, aircraft, and parts; vessels etc (0.34), mineral products (+0.31) and Plastic, rubber, and articles thereof (0.22).
NBS further said between July and August 2023, the All-Commodity Export Index average increased by 0.12 per cent points. This can be attributed to the changes in the prices of Vehicles, aircraft, and parts thereof; vessels etc. (+0.23), Plastic, rubber, and articles thereof (+0.16), and Papermaking material; paper and paperboard, articles (+0.14).
According to the report, the terms of trade (TOT) represent the ratio between a country’s export prices and its import prices.
NBS explained that the ratio is calculated by dividing the price of the exports by the price of the imports, usually in percentage.
The report said an “ increase in the terms of trade between two periods (or when TOT is greater than 100%) means that the value of exports is increasing relative to the value of imports, and the country can afford more imports for the same value of exports.
“For example, an oil price increase between two periods (with oil production remaining the same) is likely to increase or improve the terms of trade for Nigeria and vice versa.
“The TOT is recorded as an index and can be used as an indicator of an economy’s stability.”