• Nigeria’s exports to Africa reached 4.82 trillion naira, up 14% year on year
• West Africa absorbed over 62% of Nigeria’s continental exports
• Government efforts under the AfCFTA supported trade and lower export costs

Nigeria’s exports to the rest of Africa reached 4.82 trillion naira (about 3.3 billion $) between January and June 2025, Bloomberg reported, citing Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, comptroller general of the Nigeria Customs Service. This marked a 14% year-on-year increase, compared to 4.21 trillion naira in the first half of 2024. “This is a clear signal of strengthening regional trade momentum,” the comptroller general said.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reviewed by Ecofin Agency show that West Africa remained Nigeria’s largest market on the continent. ECOWAS bought 2.995 trillion naira of goods, representing more than 62% of Nigeria’s exports to Africa and rising 16% year on year. Fuel was the most purchased Nigerian product by the regional bloc, totaling nearly 298 billion naira.

The main economic partners were Togo (946.7 billion naira), Côte d’Ivoire (837 billion naira), Ghana (429 billion naira), Senegal (568 billion naira), and Benin (70.2 billion naira).

While Mr. Adeniyi said the trend in the first half of the year highlights Nigeria’s role “as a hub for intra-continental trade and value chains,” observers remain more cautious.

In the first half of 2025, exports to Africa accounted for only about 10% of Nigeria’s total exports, estimated at 43.3 trillion naira. Africa was the country’s fourth-largest export destination after Europe (17.3 trillion naira), Asia (14.1 trillion naira), and the Americas (6.9 trillion naira). However, Nigeria has taken steps to boost its trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

These efforts include tariff concessions and the launch in May of an air freight corridor to East Africa, expected to reduce export costs to the region by 50% to 75%. In the same month, Nigeria and Benin officially launched SIGMAT (Interconnected Transit Goods Management System) at the Sèmè-Kraké border post to better combat fraud and ease trade along the strategic Abidjan–Lagos corridor.