Nigeria recorded an increase of N1.18tn in merchandise trade from N6.02tn in the fourth quarter of last year to N7.21tn in the first quarter of this year.
The figures are contained in the Foreign Trade in Goods Report which was released on Wednesday by the National Bureau of Statistics.
In the report which was made available to newsmen, the bureau said the trade value of N7.21tn is also an increase of 35.07 per cent when compared to the N5.33tn recorded in the corresponding first quarter of 2017.
It reads in part, “The total value of Nigeria’s merchandise trade was N7.21tn in the first quarter of 2018, which was a 19.74 per cent growth from the figure recorded in Q4, 2017 N6.02tn and a 35.07 per cent growth from Q1, 2017 (N5.33tn).”
The report said the strong growth of total trade in the reviewing quarter was mainly driven by the strong increase in export.
