Nigeria’s agricultural trade returned to surplus in the first quarter of 2026, ending six consecutive months of deficit as export earnings outpaced imports.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that agriculture recorded a trade surplus of N344 million, with exports exceeding imports by 29.4 percent in the first quarter of the year.
Agric trade for the period dipped from N2.74 trillion in the first quarter of 2025 to N2 trillion in the same quarter of 2026, comprising N1.17 trillion in agricultural exports and N827.7 billion in agricultural imports.
The rebound was driven by higher shipments of cocoa, sesame, soybeans, cashew and other non-oil agricultural exports, which benefited from improved global prices.
The country earned N596.9 billion from cocoa, N153.8 billion from sesame and N129.3 billion from soybeans.
Experts say the surplus signals a recovery in the sector after months of pressure from rising input costs, adding that
This post was originally published on this site.
