By: Tunji Okunlola
Nigeria’s merchandise trade surplus surged to N12.59 trillion in the second quarter of 2026, according to new figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), as export earnings continued to outpace the country’s import bill by a wide margin.
Key Figures
In its Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics report released on Monday, the NBS said total merchandise trade; exports plus imports stood at N41.44 trillion for the April–June 2026 period. This was:
– 5.61% higher than the N39.24 trillion recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2025
– 19.13% higher than the N34.79 trillion recorded in Q1 2026
The trade balance itself came in at N12,596.86 billion (N12.59–12.60 trillion, depending on rounding across reports), a 101.32% increase compared to the same quarter of 2025, and a 66.8% jump quarter-on-quarter from the N7.55 trillion surplus recorded in Q1 2026.
| Metric | Q2 2026 | Change |
| Total merchandise trade | N41.44tn | +5.61% y/y |
| Exports | N27.02tn | +18.77% y/y |
| Imports | N14.42tn | -12.55% y/y |
| Trade surplus | N12.59tn | +101.32% y/y |
Exports
Exports accounted for roughly 65.2% of total trade, rising to N27.02 trillion up 18.77% year-on-year and 27.64% from Q1 2026’s N21.17 trillion.
– Raw material exports surged 181.24% year-on-year to N2.31 trillion, driven largely by urea (N1.07 trillion), mostly shipped to the United States.
– Solid mineral exports rose 90.03% year-on-year to N146.91 billion.
– Agricultural exports fell sharply, down 36.09% year-on-year to N802.99 billion, led by cashew nuts in shell (N268.62 billion), cocoa beans (N154.31 billion), and sesame seeds (N96.03 billion).
– Manufactured goods exports declined 51.10% year-on-year to N393.03 billion, though this was 29.87% higher than Q1 2026.
Imports
Imports totalled N14.42 trillion, down 12.55% from N16.49 trillion in Q2 2025, though up 5.91% from N13.61 trillion in Q1 2026.
– China remained Nigeria’s largest source of imports, supplying N5.92 trillion which is about 41% of total imports.
– Asia as a region supplied N8.56 trillion (59.37% of imports).
– Europe followed with N3.06 trillion (21.25%), and the Americas with N1.59 trillion (11.03%).
– African countries supplied N1.10 trillion (7.65%), with ECOWAS states accounting for N269.06 billion of that.
By individual country, after China, the largest import sources were the United States (~N1.00 trillion, 6.97%), India (N924.46 billion, 6.41%), the Netherlands (N409.81 billion, 2.84%) and Germany (N395.87 billion, 2.74%).
Context
A trade surplus occurs when a country’s export earnings exceed its import spending. Nigeria’s widening surplus comes amid ongoing government efforts to boost non-oil exports, reduce import dependence, and ease pressure on the naira, even as the country continues to contend with inflation and exchange-rate volatility. Whether the current pace of surplus growth is sustainable will likely hinge on continued diversification of exports beyond crude oil and traditional commodities, and on the competitiveness of Nigerian-made goods abroad.
*This report is based on the NBS’s Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics Report for Q2 2026, released on Monday, September 7, 2026.*