China was Nigeria’s biggest partners in the second quarter of 2015, as the country’s total foreign trade value declined by about 0.5 percent, the Foreign Trade Statistics Report of the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, NBS, has revealed.

Nigeria’s total value of imports from China during the period stood at about ₦336.5 billion, or 22.5 per cent, against ₦143.6billion, or 9.6 per cent by United States; ₦115.4billion, or 7.7 percent by India; ₦83.4billion, or 5.6 percent by Belgium, and ₦ 80.9billion, or 5.4 percent by Netherlands.

The report released on Wednesday in Abuja showed that the country recorded a total trade value of about ₦4.37 trillion during the period when compared to about ₦4.39 trillion recorded in the preceding quarter.

When measured against the corresponding quarter of 2014, the value of the total merchandise trade decreased by ₦2.287 trillion, or 34.3 percent, according to the report .

Relative to the preceding quarter, the report showed an increase of about ₦214.1 billion, or eight per cent, in the value of exports, apart from a decline of ₦234.4 billion, or 13.6 per cent, in the value of imports, reflecting an improvement in the country’s trade balance by about ₦448.6 billion, or 47.9 per cent during the quarter.

Year on year, the NBS said Nigeria’s trade balance declined by 48.8 percent, just as imports dipped by 24.5 percent, and exports dropped further by 38.5 percent.

Further details from the report put the total value of Nigeria’s imports for the period at ₦1.49 trillion, a decrease of 13.6 per cent from the value of ₦1.73 trillion recorded in the preceding quarter.

On year-on-year basis, the report showed that Nigeria recorded lower import trade balance of about ₦484 billion, or 24.5 per cent, with the importation of “boilers, machinery and appliances” dominating, with total value of N356 billion, or 23.8 percent during the period under review.

Other commodities also contributed significantly to the value of imports in the review period, with “Mineral products” accounting for about N173.9 billion, or 11.6 percent, while chemical and allied industries’ products took about N155.2 billion, or 10.4 per cent.

Vehicles, aircraft and parts thereof vessels accounted for at N152.9 billion, or 10.2 percent, while base metals and articles of base metals was responsible for about N132.8 billion, or 8.9 percent of the total quarterly imports.

Imports classified by Broad Economic Category saw Industrial Supplies ranked top with an import value of ₦433.6billion, or 29 percent, followed by “Capital Goods and parts (₦342.2 billion, or 22.9 percent) and “Food and Beverage” with ₦290.4billion, or 19.4 percent of total imports.

The NBS said motor spirit was the only the product that the retained the greatest import value at ₦140.5 billion, or 9.4 percent of the total bill for the quarter.

Nigeria’s total exports totalled about ₦2.88 trillion, an increase of ₦214.1billion, or eight percent over the value recorded in the preceding quarter, although it reflected a decline of ₦1.803 billion, or 38.5 percent on year on year basis.

Crude Oil exports dominated the exports, with about ₦2.12 trillion, or 73.7 percent realised as total value of domestic exports during the period, while Liquefied Natural Gas followed closely with total value of about ₦260.7 billion, or 9.1 percent of the total export value.

Exports classified mainly as “Mineral Products” accounted for ₦2.51 trillion, or 87.3 percent of the total export value, while other products exported by Nigeria during the period included “vehicles, aircraft and parts as well as vessels accounted for about ₦250.6 billion, or 8.7 percent.

Vegetable Products ₦36.7 billion, or 1.3 percent, and prepared foodstuffs, beverages, spirits and vinegar tobacco took about ₦24.6 billion or 0.9 percent of the totals respectively.

Most of the country’s products, the report said, were exported to India, Spain, Netherlands, South Africa and Brazil, with values put at ₦406.1 billion, or 14.1 percent; ₦297.4 billion, or 10.3 percent; ₦296.3 billion, or 10.3 percent; ₦240.9 billion, or 8.4 percent and ₦147.8 billion, or 5.1 percent of the total exports respectively.