Refined petroleum products have overtaken crude oil as the United Kingdom’s largest goods import from Nigeria, accounting for 47.5 per cent of total goods imports from Nigeria in the 12 months ended March 2026.
Latest figures in the Nigeria Trade and Investment Factsheet, released by the UK Department for Business and Trade and quoted by Nairametrics, showed that Britain imported £674.5 million worth of refined petroleum products from Nigeria during the period, considerably higher than the £438.9 million spent on importation of Nigerian crude oil.
Crude oil, which traditionally dominated Nigeria’s merchandise exports to the UK, accounted for 30.9 per cent of British goods imports from Nigeria. At the same time, natural gas ranked third at £179.3 million, representing 12.6 per cent.
According to the report, UK crude oil imports from Nigeria plunged by 64.3 per cent compared with the preceding 12-month period, while natural gas imports rose by 6.9 per cent.
Apart from petroleum products, other major British goods imports from Nigeria included coffee, tea and cocoa products valued at £29.3 million, representing 2.1 per cent of total goods imports, and processed fertilisers worth £25.2 million, or 1.8 per cent.
Interestingly, refined petroleum products also dominated trade flows in the opposite direction, emerging as the UK’s biggest goods export to Nigeria during the review period.
Britain exported £725.6 million worth of refined petroleum products to Nigeria, accounting for 51.2 per cent of its total goods exports to the country. This was despite a 44.7 per cent year-on-year decline in the value of the products exported.
Other leading UK exports to Nigeria included toilet and cleansing preparations valued at £61.6 million; textile fabrics, £48.6 million; general industrial machinery, £40.3 million; and mechanical power generators, £32.9 million.
Meanwhile, the report showed that the overall value of bilateral trade between Nigeria and the UK declined over the period, despite changes in the composition of merchandise trade between the two countries.
Total trade in goods and services stood at £7.3 billion in the four quarters ended March 2026, representing a 3.4 per cent decline, or £258 million, compared with the corresponding period of the previous year.
UK exports to Nigeria declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to £5.3 billion, while imports from Nigeria fell more sharply by 9.3 per cent to £2 billion.
Of Britain’s £2 billion imports from Nigeria, goods accounted for £1.4 billion, representing 69.7 per cent, while services contributed £616 million, or 30.3 per cent.
UK goods imports from Nigeria declined by 11.3 per cent year-on-year, while imports of services fell by 4.3 per cent.
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