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Tag: trade surplus

  • Fed Govt recorded N66.34tr trade surplus in 2024

    Fed Govt recorded N66.34tr trade surplus in 2024

    • Generates N6.10tr revenue
    • seizes 900 arms
    • Seizes 1,716,656 litres of petroleum products
    • 55 arrested suspects under investigation

    The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) yesterday said the country recorded N66.34trillion trade surplus last year.

    Its Comptroller -General, Adewale Adeniyi,  who spoke to reporters on activities of the NCS last year in Abuja, said during the year, the country recorded NN136.65 trillion export and N60.29 trillion import, an indication of N66.34 trillion trade surplus.

    According to him, the total trade volume in 2024 was N196.94 trillion.

    His words: “The trade performance data for 2024 reflects significant growth in trade value despite global economic headwinds.

    “The Service processed imports with a Cost, Insurance, and Freight (CIF) value of N60.29 trillion in 2024, representing a remarkable 117.4per cent increase from N27.74 trillion in 2023.

    “This was achieved through 1,262,988 import transactions, handling a total mass of 15.35 billion kilograms.

    “The higher value recorded despite an 8.2per cent decrease in transaction volume from the previous year’s 1,376,514 transactions indicates a shift towards higher-value goods in our import trade portfolio.

    “Our export trade performance was equally impressive, with the total CIF value rising significantly to N136.65 trillion in 2024 from N42.77 trillion in 2023, marking a 219.5per cent increase…The total trade value handled by the Service in 2024 amounted to N196.94 trillion, compared to N70.50 trillion in 2023, representing a 179.3per cent increase.”

    Attributing the growth to the effectiveness of trade facilitation, he said the “substantial growth in trade value, achieved with fewer but more valuable transactions, is evident of the increasing sophistication of Nigeria’s international trade and the effectiveness of our trade facilitation measures.”

    He said the NCS raked in N6.10trillion revenue from the N3.2 trillion recorded in the previous year.

    Adeniyi said: “I am pleased to announce that the Nigeria Customs Service has again recorded another unprecedented performance in revenue collection for the year 2024. The Service collected a total sum of N6,105,315,543,489.50 (Six Trillion, One Hundred and Five Billion, Three Hundred and Fifteen Million, Five Hundred and Forty-Three Thousand, Four Hundred and Eighty-Nine Naira, Fifty Kobo), surpassing our target of N5,079,069,866,085.50 by N1,026,245,677,404.00, representing a 20.2per cent increase above the target.

    “This remarkable achievement represents a significant 90.4per cent increase from our 2023 collection of ₦3,206,583,002,675.65. The growth is historic as it marks the highest Year-on-Year increase recorded by the Service in recent times, surpassing the 52.24per cent growth recorded in 2022 by 38.18 percentage points.”

    He said the Service achieved another milestone in October 2024 by recording the highest monthly collection ever of ₦603billion.

    Adeniyi said the collections were achieved despite significant concessions granted to support various sectors of the economy, totaling ₦1.68 trillion.

    He added that the concessions comprised ₦723 billion in import duty waivers, ₦372billion in other levy concessions, and ₦586billion in import Value Added Tax (VAT) relief.

    Without the concessions, said Adeniyi, the NCS would have raked in N7.6trillion last year.

    According to him, the strategic concessions were granted to stimulate economic growth, support industrial development, and enhance the overall business environment in line with government policy objectives.

    He noted that the concession value represents a significant reduction from the ₦3,95billion recorded in 2023.

    Adeniyi said: “This reduction is a direct result of our enhanced monitoring mechanisms and strategic reforms aimed at blocking loopholes and eliminating abuses in the concession granting process, ensuring that only genuine and qualifying enterprises benefit from these incentives.

    Giving a breakdown of the revenue collection, he said the total revenue collected for 2024 comprises three main components: Federation Account Collections. The sum of ₦3,657,063,981,445.42 was collected into the Federation Account, consisting of Import Duty, Excise Duty, Fees, E-Auction proceeds, and CET Levy.

    “Non-Federation Account Levies. A total of ₦816,902,844,844.73 was collected as Non-Federation Account Levies.

    “Value Added Tax (VAT). The Service collected ₦1,631,348,717,199.35 as VAT on imports,” he said.

    He announced the approval of the establishment of the Nigeria Customs Service University, in Badagry, Lagos State, this year.

    On anti- smuggling/enforcement, Adeniyi said the NCS recorded 3,555 seizures in the year under review.

    Adeniyi said the most important among the seizures were 900 arms and 113,472 rounds of ammunition and the interception of narcotics and other illicit drugs, resulting in 105 seizures across various forms that were aided by the declaration of a state of emergency at our major entry points.

    He said: “Particularly noteworthy were the seizures of arms and ammunition, including 900 arms and 113,472 rounds of ammunition and the interception of narcotics and other illicit drugs, resulting in 105 seizures across various forms that were aided by the declaration of a state of emergency at our major entry points.

    “The Service also intercepted unauthorized pharmaceutical products, with 40 seizures including 175,676 pieces and 6,271 cartons of various medicaments valued at ₦3.04 billion, protecting public health from potentially dangerous counterfeit drugs.”

    Read Also: Taiwan canvasses expansion of bilateral trade ties with Nigeria

    He further said the operation of the Service in partnership with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) recorded 1,716,656 litres of petroleum products in the year under review.

    He said the enforcement of the NCS has culminated in the arrest of 55 suspects that are now under investigation.

    Adeniyi said: “Worthy of note is the launch of operation Whirlwind with the support of ONSA and the NMDPRA under the Nigeria Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPC Ltd).

    “This operation resulted in the seizure of significant quantities of petroleum products totaling 1,716,656 litres from saboteurs diverting petroleum products intended for home use to neighbouring countries. Most significantly, our enforcement activities have yielded 55 arrests of suspects currently under investigation as we continue to dismantle the criminal networks behind these activities.

    “This comprehensive approach to enforcement, aligned with both national security objectives and international obligations, positions the NCS as a crucial actor in the nation’s security architecture as we continue to facilitate legitimate trade.”

  • Nigeria’s trade surplus hits N6.5tr

    Nigeria’s trade surplus hits N6.5tr

    Nigeria’s economy is on a rebound as significant improvement in exports more than doubled the country’s international trades, leaving a trade surplus of N6.5 trillion.

    In the latest economic report released at the weekend, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) at the weekend reported that Nigeria’s foreign trades rose by 145.6 per cent to N31.8 trillion in first quarter 2024 compared with N12.6 trillion recorded in first quarter 2023.

    The first quarter 2024 performance also represented 46.3 per cent increase on the country‘s foreign trade in fourth quarter 2023.

    The report: “Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics (Q1 2024)” underlined considerable improvements across the economy, with increases in oil and non-oil exports.

    A breakdown showed that total import stood at N12 trillion while total value of exported goods was N19.1 trillion, indicating positive trade balance and a surplus of N6.5 trillion.

    Crude oil exports stood at N15.4 trillion in first quarter 2024, representing 80.80 per cent of total exports while the value of non-crude oil exports stood at N3.68 trillion, accounting for 19.20 per cent of total exports. Non-oil products contributed N1.78 trillion of total exports. Crude oil included petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals and crude.

    The report showed that export accounted for 60.25 per cent of total trade in first quarter 2024 with a value of N19.17 trillion, showing an increase of 51 per cent compared to the N12.69 trillion recorded in fourth quarter 2023. This also represented an increase of 195.47 per cent on N6.49 trillion recorded in first quarter 2023.

    The report meanwhile indicated that Nigeria spent N2.6 trillion on importation of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, which accounted for 20.84 per cent of total goods imported into the country in first quarter 2024.

    As the President Bola Tinubu’s government marked its one year in office last months, experts were unanimous that the government had laid the foundation for economic rebound.

    Experts said despite the obvious challenges that came with many of its reforms, the macroeconomic changes initiated by the government were necessary and unavoidable.

    They explained that reforms for long-term sustainable economic growth, like the one promised by Tinubu, take time to fully materialise, calling for patience and support for the macroeconomic reforms.

    Many experts however said the government appeared to be losing its initial momentum. They said the government should rededicate itself to re-energising the key sectors of the economy.

    Experts who spoke included Managing Director, Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Dr. Muda Yusuf; Managing Director, Arthur Steven Asset Management, Mr. Olatunde Amolegbe; Managing Director, APT Securities and Funds, Mallam Garba Kurfi; Managing Director, AIICO Capital, Mr. Femi Ademola and Managing Director, HighCap Securities, Mr David Adonri among others.

    Read Also: Nigeria’s total trade rises by 145.58% in one year to N31.8tr, says NBS

    Yusuf said the performance review of one year of the current administration requires proper contextualization as there were significant legacy issues which posed serious challenges, especially from a macroeconomic point of view.

    According to him, at the time the government assumed office, the fiscal space was very tight with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) assuming the role of a major financier of government operations and CBN’s ways and means financing rose to levels which were unprecedented in the country’s history.

    He said there were also legacy of incredibly dysfunctional foreign exchange market riddled with roundtripping and all manners of malpractices, which created major distortions in the economy, as well as fuel subsidy regime which created opportunities for corruption and bleeding of the country.

    He said Nigeria was at a point when oil subsidy was obviously unsustainable and the state of affairs in the country’s oil sector was a major disincentive to investors, with the oil sector becoming hotbed of corruption of huge proportion.