Fuels and lubricants dominated 2024 imports, accounting for 37.4% (₦22.7T) of the total ₦60.6T

  • Nigeria imported a total of ₦60.6 trillion worth of goods in 2024.
  • Fuels and lubricants dominated imports with ₦22.7 trillion (37.4%).
  • Industrial supplies accounted for ₦13.4 trillion (22.1%), showing strong demand for production inputs.
  • Capital goods and parts represented ₦9.1 trillion (15%).
  • Food and beverage imports reached ₦6.6 trillion (10.9%), signalling a high reliance on external food sources.

Nigeria’s total imports reached ₦60.6 trillion in 2024, with fuels and lubricants emerging as the dominant import category, accounting for ₦22.7 trillion (37.4%) of the total. This underscores the country’s heavy reliance on imported petroleum products despite being a major crude oil producer. Industrial supplies ranked second with ₦13.4 trillion (22.1%), reflecting the strong demand for raw materials and intermediate goods needed by Nigeria’s manufacturing and construction sectors.

Source:

National Bureau of Statistics

Period:

2024
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Nigeria's imports of food and beverage have grown in value by 265% since 2020, reaching ₦6.6T in 2024
  • Nigeria’s food and beverage imports increased almost ninefold, from ₦0.7 trillion in 2013 to ₦6.6 trillion in 2024.
  • Imports remained relatively stable between 2015 and 2019, averaging around ₦1.1–₦1.6 trillion.
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Nigeria is buying more from ECOWAS, with their share of African imports up to 32.4% in H1 2025
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  • The lowest ECOWAS import share was recorded in 2014 (8.8%), showing significant progress since then.
  • The share of ECOWAS imports has more than doubled since 2021, signalling stronger regional trade ties.
  • Nigeria’s total imports from Africa rose to ₦1.8 trillion in 2025 (H1), indicating expanding trade activity.

For every $1 Ghana earns from exporting pharmaceutical products, it spends about $22 on imports
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  • By 2015, Ghana’s pharmaceutical imports reached its peak with $348.12m while exports were $3.10m, meaning imports were nearly 100 times larger.
  • In 2016, Ghana recorded its highest-ever export performance at $78.33 million, but even then, imports stood at $154.96m, almost two times higher.

For the first time in 17 years, Ghana’s ceramic exports recorded a $19.9m surplus in 2023
  • In 2023, Ghana recorded $91.9m in ceramic exports, amassing $19.9m profit, after 17 years of consistent trade losses and heavy dependence on imported ceramic products.
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The U.S. consistently leads Nigeria’s imports from the Americas, accounting for 57–73% in 13 years
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