Vice President Kashim Shettima has stated that trade facilitation programmes implemented by the current administration increased the country’s trade balance to N6.5tn in the second quarter of 2024.
He said efforts to maximise economic opportunities ensured that exports to other countries accounted for 60.89 per cent, or equivalent to N19.42tn of total trade, representing a marginal increase of 1.31 per cent to N19.17tn in the first quarter of 2024 and a 201.76 per cent increase from N6.44tn recorded in the second quarter of 2023.
He said these at the 3rd National Conference on Non-Oil Export organised by the Nigerian Export Promotion Council on Tuesday in Abuja.
The event was themed, “Promoting Non-Oil Export for Rapid National Economic Growth.”
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings grew in the second quarter of 2024 based on strong export performance as the foreign trade surplus increased to N6.95tn.
A trade surplus is an economic measure of a positive balance of trade, where a country’s exports exceed its imports. Despite this figure, Shettima stressed that Nigeria cannot afford to be a dumping ground for all sorts of substandard goods rejected in other countries.
