Nume Ekeghe

Nigeria’s trade with other African countries climbed to $9.02 billion in 2025, underscoring the growing importance of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in expanding market access for Nigerian exporters and deepening regional economic integration.

The latest African Trade Report 2026 released by Afreximbank showed that the value of Nigeria’s trade with the continent increased from $7.47 billion in 2024 to $9.02 billion in 2025, representing a growth of about 21 per cent and positioning the country among Africa’s leading intra-African trading nations.

The report attributed the improvement to Nigeria’s intensified focus on regional commerce and efforts to leverage opportunities created by the AfCFTA to lower trade barriers and expand export destinations across the continent.

According to the report, crude oil remained the dominant component of Nigeria’s exports to African markets. However, the country’s export basket is becoming increasingly diversified, with growing shipments of chemicals, plastics, rubber products, processed agricultural goods, food products, urea and cement to regional markets.

The performance comes as Nigeria seeks to reduce its dependence on traditional export markets outside Africa and position local manufacturers to take advantage of the continent’s rapidly expanding consumer market.

It stated: “Elsewhere in West Africa, the value of Nigeria’s trade with the continent grew from $7.47 billion to $9.02 billion. Crude oil was a dominant feature in Nigeria’s exports to Africa. Other key exports included nonoil manufactured goods such as chemicals, plastics, and rubber products, processed agricultural goods and foodstuffs, urea, and cement.”

“Nigeria intensified its focus on trade with other African countries, leveraging the AfCFTA to expand market access and lower trade costs for domestic exporters. Key milestones achieved during the year included the gazetting of Nigeria’s Provisional Schedule of Tariff Concessions in April, which enabled Nigerian goods to qualify for preferential tariffs across AfCFTA member states while granting reciprocal access for African imports. Additionally, new logistics initiatives such as a dedicated air cargo corridor to East and Southern Africa are reducing transportation costs for Nigerian intra-African trade.”

Afreximbank noted that one of the major milestones recorded during the year was the gazetting of Nigeria’s Provisional Schedule of Tariff Concessions in April 2025.