NIGERIA spent ₦836.67 billion on the importation of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, also known as petrol, and other petroleum products in the second quarter of 2019, according to data obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS.
Data obtained from the NBS Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics for the Second Quarter of 2019, showed that the amount spent on the importation of PMS and other petroleum products rose sharply by 193.98 per cent from ₦284.599 billion spent on the importation of the product in the first quarter of 2019. Specifically, of the total amount, spent on the importation of petroleum products, the report noted that N575.28 billion was spent on the importation of PMS, representing a 201.55 per cent increase compared to ₦190.777 billion spent on importation of the commodity in the first quarter.
In addition to PMS import, the NBS explained that light fuel oil importation gulped ₦130.879 billion, while gas oil importation stood at N130.51 billion in the second quarter of 2019. In comparison, it disclosed that gas oil importation stood at N62.22 billion, while N31.61 billion was spent on the importation of lubricating oil in the first quarter of 2019. Generally, the report noted that in the second quarter of 2019, total trade grew by 4.42 per cent compared to first quarter 2019, and by 24.16 per cent relative to second quarter 2018. The report stated that combined with the first quarter of 2019 performance, the value of total trade as at half year 2019 was 15.43 per cent higher than for the same period in 2018.
The report added that the value of total imports rose by 8.20 per cent compared to import in the first quarter of 2019, and by 65.21 per cent over the corresponding quarter of 2018. It explained that the value of imports for the first half of 2019 rose by 43.63 per cent over the corresponding period in 2018. On the other hand, the report noted that the value of total exports in the second quarter of 2019 stood at N4.596 trillion, representing an increase of 1.34 per cent against the level recorded in the first quarter and 2.06 per cent when compared with its value in the second quarter of 2018. It added that crude oil exports contributed N3.935 trillion, or 85.6 per cent, while non-crude oil export stood at N661.6 billion. It noted that “The slower growth in exports could be attributed to a combination of slower growth in the value of crude oil exports occurring at the same time as a decline in the value of non-crude oil exports. In second quarter 2019, crude oil remained the major export as it accounted for 85.6 per cent or N3.935 trillion of total exports while non-crude oil exports contributed 14.37 per cent or N661.6 billion.
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“On a year on year basis, the value of crude oil exports was 4.4 per cent higher in second quarter 2019 than in second quarter 2018, and 16.52 per cent higher than in first quarter 2019. “At half year 2019, the value of crude oil exports declined only slightly by 0.5 per cent relative to half year 2018. On the other hand, the value of non-crude oil exports declined by almost three per cent as at half year 2019, by 10 per cent relative to second quarter 2018 and by 43 per cent relative to first quarter 2019. “Nevertheless, excluding all oil-related commodity exports, the value of non-oil exports rose by 4.1 per cent in second quarter 2019 relative to second quarter 2018, and by almost five per cent at half year 2019 relative to the same period in 2018.”
VANGUARD