The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says the country recorded a total trade volume of 8.24 trillion in first quarter, 2019.

The NBS said this in “Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics’’ for first quarter, 2019 posted on its website.

The bureau said the figure (N8.24 trillion) was 2.50 percent higher compared to fourth quarter, 2018 and 7.52 percent higher relative to the corresponding quarter in 2018.

It said the trade balance remained positive at N831.62 billion in the quarter under review, boosted by increase in both exports and imports.

According to the report, total import in the quarter is N3.70 billion while total export is N4.54 trillion.

Crude oil export accounted for N3.38 trillion, non-crude oil export was N1.16 trillion and non-crude export was N604.44 billion in the quarter under review.

It said exports trade was dominated by crude oil exports, which contributed N3.38 trillion or 74.45 percent to the value of total exports in first quarter, 2019.

Meanwhile, the report said the value of total imports rose by 3.39 percent in first quarter, 2019 compared to fourth quarter, 2018 and by 25.84 percent over the corresponding quarter of 2018.

It said imported agricultural products were 7.98 percent higher in value than in fourth quarter, 2018 and 28.1 percent higher than first quarter, 2018.

The report said the value of raw material imports grew 6.62 percent more than the value recorded in fourth quarter, 2018 and 20.76 percent more than the value recorded in first quarter, 2018.

India, Spain, France, South Africa and the Netherlands were the country’s major export trading partners in the quarter under review, while China, U.S., Netherlands, India and Switzerland were the largest import trading partners.