The Nigerian merchandise trade declined 17.94% in Q1,2020.
The National Bureau of Statistics confirmed this in its quarterly report released on Tuesday.
The NBS said the merchandise trade slowed down in the quarter by 17.94%, compared to the value recorded in Q4,2019 but increased marginally by 0.80% year on year.
It also indicated that the value of total imports decreased by 21.08% in Q1, 2020 compared to the value recorded in Q4,2019 but was 13.99% higher when compared with Q1, 2019.
The value of other oil products imports according to the NBS was 14.21% higher in Q1, 2020 than in Q4, 2019, and 180.05% higher when compared with the corresponding quarter of 2019.
The report further showed that the value of imported Agricultural goods was 12.02% more in Q1 2020 than in Q4, 2019, and 10.62% more than Q1, 2019.
Similarly, the value of raw material imports decreased by 8.49% in Q1,2020 relative to Q4 2019, and 6.91% compared to the corresponding quarter in 2019.
Meanwhile, the value of solid mineral imports was 15.65%, higher in Q1,2020 than the preceding quarter, and 20.05% compared to the corresponding quarter in 2019.
