Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, has projected that Arab–African trade could expand by more than $37 billion within the next three years.
Speaking in Abuja at the Agribusiness Matchmaking Forum, held ahead of the AATB Board of Governors Meeting, Edun emphasized the importance of agribusiness and industrial partnerships in driving regional economic growth.
He urged stakeholders to focus on value creation rather than raw commodity exports.
“Partners should prioritise value addition rather than raw commodity exports,” he said.
Edun highlighted the need for deeper trade collaboration between African and Arab nations, stressing that shifting global economic dynamics make regional cooperation, investment, and shared markets increasingly vital.
He noted that Nigeria’s expanding industrial base and upcoming National Single Window reforms would enhance efficiency, attract investment, and support private-sector growth.
“This is a moment to turn opportunity into action,” Edun declared. “By working together, we can build stronger value chains, create jobs and support prosperity across our regions.”
Nigeria recorded a significant improvement in its external trade position in the second quarter of 2025, with the country’s trade surplus rising 44.3% to N7.46 trillion, compared to N5.17 trillion in the previous quarter.
The figures were released in the Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The report showed that Nigeria’s total exports reached N22.75 trillion in Q2, representing a 10.5% increase from Q1 and 28.4% higher than the same period in 2024. Imports, however, slipped marginally by 0.9% quarter-on-quarter to N15.29 trillion, creating the wider surplus that boosted Nigeria’s external account.
Crude oil exports, valued at N11.97 trillion and accounting for 52.6% of total exports, declined by 5.1% year-on-year and 7.6% compared to Q1. However, this was offset by strong growth in other petroleum products, which nearly doubled year-on-year to N7.74 trillion, driven by gas and refined petroleum exports.
Non-oil exports also showed resilience, rising to N3.05 trillion, representing 13.4% of total exports.
Meanwhile, TRT Manufacturing and TradeDepot had launched Africa Trade Engine (ATE), a new joint venture aiming to close Africa’s $50 billion annual import gap by boosting local production and intra-African trade.