By Elizabeth Adegbesan
Driven by an 18.7 percent decline in import bill, Nigeria’s trade surplus rose by 32.06 percent month-on-month (MoM) to $3.46 billion in April 2026 from $2.62 billion in March 2026.
The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, disclosed this yesterday in its April 2026 Economic Report.
CBN said: “The goods account recorded a higher trade surplus, mainly driven by a decline in import bill. Provisional data showed that the trade account recorded a surplus of $3.46 billion, compared to $2.62 billion in the preceding month.
“The performance was driven by 18.70 per cent decrease in import bills to $3.13 billion from $3.85 billion in March, as imports of both oil and non-oil products declined.”
Export receipts increased by 1.85 per cent to $6.59 billion from $6.47 billion, owing to higher non-oil export earnings.
In a breakdown of the trade receipts by composition, CBN said that oil exports accounted for 85.41 per cent of total export receipts, while non-oil exports constituted the balance.
In terms of imports, non-oil imports accounted for 81.75 per cent, while oil imports made up the balance.
On oil export, CBN said: “Oil export earnings moderated during the review period, driven by lower receipts from gas and refined petroleum product exports.
“Aggregate oil export earnings fell slightly to $5.62 billion in April, from $5.70 billion in March.
“A breakdown shows that receipts from gas exports and refined petroleum product exports decreased to $0.84 billion and $0.79 billion, respectively, compared with $0.86 billion and $1.35 billion in the preceding month.
“In contrast, receipts from crude oil exports increased to $3.99 billion, from $3.49 billion in March, driven by higher global crude oil prices.”
The apex bank noted that Non-oil export earnings improved in April, owing to a rise in global commodity prices.
“Earnings from non-oil products exports increased to $0.96 billion from $0.77 billion, driven largely by improved export receipts from cashew nuts and fertiliser.
“Analysis of Nigeria’s top 10 non-oil export destinations indicated India as the leading destination, accounting for 16.51 per cent, followed by Vietnam (10.96 percent), the US (8.71 percent), China (8.48 percent), and Germany (5.88 percent)”
On imports, CBN said: “Merchandise imports decreased, driven by lower oil and non-oil imports.
“A disaggregation showed that non-oil imports decreased to $2.56 billion from $2.81 billion in the preceding month, due to a decline in imports of agricultural goods and raw materials.
“Similarly, oil import fell to $0.57 billion from $1.05 billion, owing to increased domestic refining capacity.”
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