July 29, (THEWILL) – Nigeria recorded a total of N1 trillion deficit in its trade balance with Malta in 2023, data gathered from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reports has shown.
Although Nigeria has significant trade relationships with major industrialised European countries, such as the UK, Spain, Switzerland and The Netherlands, the NBS reports indicate that the tiny Island of Malta located off the Italian coast on the Mediterranean Sea was not among them.
An analysis of the reports showed no record of any international trade between the two countries in 2022 and there was zero export in 2023. However, Nigeria recorded a total of N1 trillion imports in 2023, thus placing it in a negative trade position with the Southern European Island.
Further analysis of the NBS Foreign Trade Statistics quarterly reports revealed that Nigeria’s total import for 2023 was N35.92 trillion, indicating that about 2.87% of Nigeria’s total imports for the period were from Malta.
Also, the N1 trillion imports from Malta was 8.41% of the total imports from Europe, which was about N12.25 trillion in 2023.
Looking at the 2023 transactions, Nigeria recorded a zero imports value from Malta in Q1 2023, translating to a 0% of the total imports for that period.
However, in a dramatic turn of events, imports from Malta in Q2 2023 were N181.55 billion, accounting for 3.17% of Nigeria’s total imports for the period.
The upward trend continued into Q3 2023, with imports from Malta jumping to N561.37 billion, representing a 6.64% share of the total imports for the quarter. This showed a significant increase of 209.20% when compared with the previous quarter.
However, the imports dropped by 48.01% to N291.98 billion representing a 48.01% sharp decline in the value of imports from Malta in Q4 2023, contributing to only 2.07% of Nigeria’s total imports for the quarter.
With no record of imports from Malta in the first quarter of 2023, this indicates that importation from this Island country started in Q2 to Q4 2023.
A look at the numbers showed that for the three active quarters, Nigeria’s total imports amounted to N29.45 trillion, which further suggests that the percentage of imports from Malta was about 3.5% of total import within that period.
The unexpected spike in imports from Malta during the period has triggered widespread curiosity among most Nigerians concerning Nigeria’s dealings with a country whose economy hinges majorly on tourism and not known as a prominent player in the global oil markets.
This has also fueled recent controversy over the sudden increase in Nigeria’s imports from Malta, following recent accusation by Aliko Dangote, President/CEO, Dangote Group, against Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited of being involved in the demarketing of Dangote. Alhaji Dangote had tongue-lashed the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Authority (NMDPRA) – which he labelled a regulator without a laboratory to test the “inferior” quality petroleum products that NNPC strategically imported from a blending facility in Malta in which some Nigerians are involved.
Addressing a delegation of the House of Representatives, led by the Speaker. Tajudeen Abbas, on July 20, who were on a familiarisation visit to the Dangote refinery and Petrochemicals Company, at Lagos, evidently angry Aliko Dangote condemned the campaign of calumny against his company by those he accused of not telling Nigerians the truth about the situation.
He said, “Another complaint I heard which I think the Rt. Hon Deputy Speaker also raised, was ‘why did we drop the price of diesel, is it because of the bad quality we produce?, I said no.” He maintained that what Dangote was producing is a better quality than what was imported
“I am sure, your Excellency Sir , most of you have problems with your vehicles, either you had or you are still having the problems. It is because of the bad fuel that they are importing into the country.
“I still stand by what I said. Go to the filling stations. You can pick up, or you can check the quality. That is the only way. Someone will bring in a ship and present a fake certificate. When we go ahead we will say more. We know where they blend these things. Some NNPC people and some traders have opened blending plants somewhere off Malta.
“We know all these areas; we know what they are doing. It is not that I do not know. I have been fighting all my life I am a very, very fearless person
“I believe so much in God and I do not fear anybody. They can do whatever they want. I am not scared, I will fight head-on.”
Dangote’s outburst followed a series of unpatriotic comments and actions by the leadership of the nation’s oil regulator.
The, Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed, had said that Nigeria could not depend on one refinery to feed the nation, adding that Dangote Refinery’s quest that all oil marketers should buy products from the plant does not support competition.
In a dramatic turn of events, Farouk Ahmed, had told journalists in Port Harcourt that Dangote Refinery’s diesel, much as the diesel from modular refineries like Waltersmith and Aradel, has high sulphur levels, which can harm vehicle engines and damage the human biosphere – the interdependent atmospheric conditions that support all life.
Farouk Ahmed had earlier warned against Dangote Refinery going into the production of petroleum products when it had not been licensed to do so.
Sam Diala is a Bloomberg Certified Financial Journalist with over a decade of experience in reporting Business and Economy. He is Business Editor at THEWILL Newspaper, and believes that work, not wishes, creates wealth.
