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Refined petroleum products became the UK’s biggest goods import from Nigeria, worth £674.5 million in the year to March 2026.
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Nigerian crude oil imports fell 64.3%, dropping below refined petroleum products for the first time in the latest trade data.
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The UK also exported £725.6 million worth of refined petroleum products to Nigeria during the period.
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Overall UK-Nigeria trade declined 3.4% to £7.3 billion, reflecting weaker imports from Nigeria.
August 09, (THEWILL) — Refined petroleum products have overtaken crude oil as the United Kingdom’s largest goods import from Nigeria, accounting for 47.5 per cent of British goods imports from the country in the 12 months to March 2026.
Figures from the UK Department for Business and Trade’s Nigeria Trade and Investment Factsheet, cited by Nairametrics, showed that the UK imported £674.5 million worth of refined petroleum products from Nigeria during the period, compared with £438.9 million in crude oil.
The shift marks a significant change in the composition of Nigeria’s exports to the UK, where crude oil has traditionally dominated trade. Crude oil accounted for 30.9 per cent of British goods imports from Nigeria, while natural gas ranked third at £179.3 million, representing 12.6 per cent.
The change was driven partly by a sharp decline in crude oil imports. UK purchases of Nigerian crude fell by 64.3 per cent from the previous 12-month period, while imports of natural gas increased by 6.9 per cent.
Other Nigerian products imported by the UK included coffee, tea and cocoa products, valued at £29.3 million, and processed fertilisers worth £25.2 million.
The trade data also revealed a striking overlap in the countries’ petroleum trade. Refined petroleum products were simultaneously the UK’s largest goods export to Nigeria, with British exports valued at £725.6 million during the period.
UK’s Fuel Exports To Nigeria Remain Dominant
The figures highlight the changing structure of the two countries’ energy trade, with refined petroleum products featuring prominently on both sides of the trade relationship even as Nigeria’s crude oil exports to Britain declined sharply.
Overall, however, bilateral trade between Nigeria and the UK weakened during the period.
Total trade in goods and services stood at £7.3 billion in the four quarters to March 2026, down 3.4 per cent, or £258 million, from the corresponding period a year earlier.
UK exports to Nigeria declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to £5.3 billion, while imports from Nigeria fell by 9.3 per cent to £2 billion.
Goods accounted for £1.4 billion, or 69.7 per cent, of Britain’s imports from Nigeria, while services contributed £616 million. Goods imports fell by 11.3 per cent year-on-year, compared with a 4.3 per cent decline in services imports.
The latest figures point to a broader shift in Nigeria-UK merchandise trade, with refined petroleum products gaining prominence as crude oil’s contribution to the relationship declines.
Segun Adeyemi serves as the Associate Editor of THEWILL Newspaper, leveraging more than ten years of editorial expertise and a proven track record in mainstream journalism.
