From Isaac Anumihe, Abuja
National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), has said that the all-commodity group import index on average increased by 0.76 per cent point in third quarter of 2022.
The highest increase was recorded by “animal and vegetable fats and oils and other cleavage prod”, followed by “mineral products” and “footwear, headgear, umbrellas, sunshades, whips etc”.
This was contained in the bureau’s recent website publication, yesterday.
Also, the all-commodity group export price index averagely increased by 0.26 per cent point in Q3 2022 stating that the increase was majorly attributed to an increase in the prices of wood and articles of wood, wood charcoal and articles, vehicles, aircraft, and parts thereof; vessels etc and paper-making material; paper and paperboard, articles.
The all-products terms of trade (TOT) index on average decreased by 0.50 per cent point because of increases in the prices of paper making material; paper and paperboard, articles, paper-making material; paper and paperboard, articles, and wood and articles of wood, wood charcoal and articles.
The all-region group export index also increased by 0.26 per cent point mainly due to rise in prices of export to all regions except America and Oceania.
Similarly, the all-region group import index increased by 0.76 per cent point due to changes in import prices to some of the regions except Africa whereas the all-region terms of trade on average decreased by 0.50 per cent point due to rise in import prices mainly from Asia and Europe.
The same way, the major export markets of Nigeria in Q3, 2022 were Spain, India, France, The Netherlands, The United States of America.
“Terms of trade (TOT) represent the ratio between a country’s export prices and its import
prices. The ratio is calculated by dividing the price of the exports by the price of the imports, and it is usually expressed in percentage. An increase in the terms of trade between two periods (or when TOT is greater than 100 per cent) means that the value of exports is increasing relative to the value of imports, and the country can afford more imports for the same value of exports. For example, an increase in the price of oil between two periods (with oil production remaining the same) is likely to increase or improve the terms of trade for Nigeria and vice versa. The TOT is recorded as an index and can be used as an indicator of an economy’s stability.
“The all-commodity terms of trade for July, August and September 2022 stood at 102.19
per cent, 102.05 per cent, and 101.68 per cent respectively. The all-commodity group
terms of trade declined by 0.14 per cent points in August and as well as by 0.36 per cent
point in September resulting a decline of 0.50 per cent point between July and September.