Nigeria generated $35.64bn from exports in the first half of 2026, representing a 23.7 per cent increase compared with the $28.82bn recorded during the corresponding period of 2025.
The growth was largely driven by a significant increase in earnings from petroleum products exports.
An analysis of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s second-quarter 2026 statistical bulletin showed that export earnings increased by $6.82bn within the six-month period, with petroleum products contributing approximately 65 per cent of the overall growth.
Earnings from petroleum products exports rose sharply by 238.7 per cent year-on-year, reaching $6.31bn in the first half of 2026, compared with $1.86bn recorded in the same period of 2025.
This represented an increase of approximately $4.45bn.
Crude oil remained Nigeria’s largest individual export category, generating $17.51bn during the period.
The figure represented a 7.7 per cent increase from the $16.25bn recorded in the first half of 2025.
Gas exports also recorded growth, increasing by 4.2 per cent to $6.22bn from $5.97bn in the corresponding period of the previous year.
Combined earnings from crude oil, gas and petroleum products increased by 21.9 per cent year-on-year, rising from $24.63bn in the first half of 2025 to $30.03bn in the first six months of 2026.
The figures showed that petroleum-related exports remained the country’s dominant source of foreign earnings, accounting for approximately 84.3 per cent of total exports during the period.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s non-oil export earnings also recorded an improvement, rising by 18.2 per cent to $5.60bn from $4.74bn in the corresponding period of 2025.
Despite the increase in non-oil earnings, the sector contributed approximately 15.7 per cent of total export revenue in the first half of 2026, compared with about 16.5 per cent during the same period of the previous year.
Source: Vanguard
