The Nigerian Foreign Trade reports of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) from 2016 to 2022 have shown that the citizens imported no fewer than 10 items worth N18.12 trillion during the period.

The items included crude palm oil, vegetable products, animal products, meat, vegetable fats and oil, steel products, rubber, plastic, clothes, and textiles were imported from various countries.

The reports showed that crude palm oil got a total of N283.8bn in seven years, with N39.5bn spent in 2017, N20.2bn in 2018, N19.1bn in 2019, N134.8bn in 2021 and N70.2bn in 2022.

However, the item didn’t record any transactions in 2016 and 2020.

Vegetable products got N4.8tn with N283.2bn spent in 2016, N295.8bn in 2017, N407.6bn in 2018, N443bn in 2019, N1.1tn in 2020, N945.4bn in 2021, and N1.3tn in 2022.

Animal products recorded trade of N3.3trn with N664.3bn imported in 2016, N190.9bn in 2017, N365.3bn in 2018, N221bn in 2019, N793.5bn in 2020, N485.8bn in 2021 and N549.6bn in 2022.

Mackerel meat recorded a total of N491bn with N11.2bn in 2016, N27.5bn in 2017, N239.5bn in 2018, N37.92bn in 2019, N62.73bn in 2020, N95.3bn in 2021, and N17.1bn in 2022.

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The blue whiting’s frozen meat recorded N204bn with N10.5bn worth of goods imported in 2017, N15.2bn in 2018, N21.86bn in 2019, N49.6bn in 2020, N65.5bn in 2021, and 41.5bn in 2022.

The product, however, didn’t record any purchases in 2016.

Imported vegetable fats and oil goods got a total of N2.1trn with N35.5bn spent in 2016, N954.4bn in 2017, N72.9bn in 2018, N62.1bn in 2019, N482.3bn in 2020, N292.6bn in 2021 and N165.9bn in 2022.

Others, like steel products, other types of fish and clothes, recorded single transactions in 2017, 2020, and 2021 with N31.9bn, N24.6bn, and N62.75bn, respectively.

N5.15tn was spent on rubber and plastic, while N1.67tn was spent on textiles.

The data showed that the sum of N336.47bn was spent on importing rubbers and plastic in 2016, while N79.9bn was spent on importing textiles in the same period.

The figures from the NBS also revealed that in 2017, N405.47bn was spent on rubber and plastics imports, while N102.62bn was spent on importing textiles in the same year.

In 2018, N607.4bn was spent on rubber and plastic imports, while N166.24bn was spent on textile imports.

The NBS further revealed that in 2019, N536.77bn was spent on importing rubber and plastic, while N174.97bn was spent on importing textiles within this same year.

In 2020, a total of N1.46tn was spent on importing rubber and plastic, which is N25.6bn more than the amount spent in 2021.

N416.71bn was also spent on textile imports in 2021.

The NBS also revealed that N367.68bn was spent on importing textiles in 2021, while N1.19tn was spent on rubber and plastic in the same year.

In 2022, N482.06bn was spent on importing rubber and plastic, while N365.46bn was spent on importing textiles.

The Star