Nigeria realised N3.09 trillion from the exports of natural gas and cocoa in 2022, higher by 44 percent than the N2.15 trillion made from the export of the two products in 2021, a development that showed progress was made in reducing Nigeria’s reliance on earnings from crude oil sales.
According to the latest foreign trade data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), earnings from natural gas on a quarterly basis was N655.94 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2022; N735.59 billion in the second quarter; N757.36 billion in the third quarter, and N704.87 billion at the end of the fourth quarter, thus bringing the total earnings from natural gas exports to N2.85 trillion.
Compared to 2021, Nigeria realised N455.66 billion from the exports of natural gas in Q1 2021; N431.53 billion in Q2 2021, N487.47 billion in Q3 2021, and N573.84 billion in Q4 2021, which cumulatively amounted to N1.95 trillion.
The surge in earnings from the exports of natural gas has been attributed to the increasing usage of gas in the production of electricity, electrification of the transport sector and heating, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
“The electrification of the transport and heating sectors continued to accelerate globally, with record numbers of electric vehicles and heat pumps sold in 2022 contributing to growth,” IEA stated.
“Global gas-fired generation remained relatively unchanged in 2022 compared to 2021, as declines in China, India and other regions were largely offset by a rise in gas-fired output in the United States,” IEA added.
Most of the non-crude oil exports, especially naturally gas, had its destinations as Spain, The Netherlands, India, France and Indonesia. Others are the United States, Brazil, Italy, Ivory Coast, and South Africa.
Revenue from the exports of cocoa whether in the forms of the superior quality cocoa beans, and good fermented Nigerian cocoa beans amounted to N234.89 billion in 2022, an improvement of 18.5 percent over N198.22 billion that was realised from the exports of the same produce in 2021.
Last year, superior quality cocoa beans generated N194.34 billion while good fermented Nigerian cocoa beans generated N40.56 billion.
Overall, Nigeria recorded a total trade of N52.29 trillion in 2022, split into N26.79 trillion exports, and N25.59 trillion imports, representing a growth of 32 percent in total trade, which resulted in a positive balance of trade of N1.206 trillion last year, compared to a negative balance of trade of N1.94 trillion in 2021.
Exports grew by 42 percent to N26.79 trillion in 2022, compared with N18.91 trillion in 2021. Imports grew by 23 percent to N25.59 trillion in 2022, over N20.84 trillion in 2021.
African export destinations of Nigeria’s exports include Togo, Niger Republic, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Namibia and Mozambique. Others are Ghana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and Kenya.
