.Leads Chart of Continent’s Importers from the Asian Country

By Joseph Amah, Abuja Nigeria topped the chart among African countries importing from China in 2021 with imported goods valued at $23 billion (about N9.6trillion) or 16 percent of total continent’s imports from the Asian country.

Painfully, Nigeria did not feature on the chart of top five African countries in exports to China in the same period, as it recorded only $3 billion (about N1. 3trillion) exports in the year. These are captured in the data obtained from China’s Custom agency.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) also shows the bilateral trade deficit against Nigeria is widening in favour of China, with a steady increase in Nigeria’s importation from the Asian country from 2019 to 2021.

The NBS data shows that Nigeria imported N6.53 trillion worth of goods from China in 9 months, January to September 2021, which is 14.8 percent higher than the N5.69 trillion worth of goods imported from the country in the whole of 2020, and 51.2 percent above total imports from the Asian country in 2019 valued at N4.32 trillion.

With the nine months report already indicating significant outpacing of the preceding year’s full year figure it is projected that the full year 2021 figure would be about 40 per cent higher. Details of the NBS data revealed that the N6.53 trillion imports from China in the nine months ended September 2021 represents 29.75 percent of Nigeria’s total imports from all over the world valued at N21.95 trillion within the period. The value of goods imported from China in 2020 at N5.69 trillion was 29.1 percent of total imports from all over the world during the year (N19.55 trillion), but the full year percentage share of China imports in 2021 is expected to massively outpace 2020 level. This shows that despite the hard biting COVID-19, the 2020 imports from China, as a percentage of total imports, far outpaced 2019 levels which was 25.5 percent of the total. The 2019 total imports from all over the world was N16.96 trillion. However, further details of the NBS data for the nine months 2021 shows that exports from Nigeria to China was valued at N486.57 billion, N633.48 billion in full year 2020 and N595.99 billion in 2019, indicating huge export deficits during the period. Going by the prorated quarterly export figures the 2021 full year export figure is projected at N648 billion, just about 2.0 percent increase in exports compared to about 40 percent increase in imports. During the 30 month period spanning January 2019 to June 2021, Nigeria spent about N14.10 trillion on importations from China, representing more than 28 percent of total imports valued at N50.31 trillion into the country within the period.

Other origins of imports behind China during the period are the United States at N4.77 trillion or 9.48 percent, India N4.72 trillion or 9.38 percent, and The Netherlands at N4.07 trillion or 8.09 percent of total imports. Meanwhile, the data from China’s customs agency shows that the top five African countries that imported the most goods from China in 2021 were Nigeria $23 billion or 16 percent, South Africa $21 billion or 14 percent, Egypt $18 billion or 12 percent, Ghana $8 billion or 5 percent, and Kenya $7 billion. Their combined imports made up more than half of all imports of Chinese goods to Africa last year.

On the other hand, the top African exporters to China in 2021 were South Africa $33 billion or 31 percent of total exports to China from the continent, Angola $21 billion or 20 percent, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) $12 billion or 11 percent, Republic of Congo $5 billion or five percent and Zambia $4 billion or four percent. Their combined exports accounted for 71 percent of all exports to China last year, with Nigeria not featuring among the continent’s top five exporters to China. In terms of total trade volume (exports and imports), China’s top African trading partners in 2021 were South Africa at $54 billion representing 21 percent of all China-Africa trade, Nigeria $26 billion or 10 percent, Angola $23 billion or 9 percent, Egypt $19 billion or 8 percent, and DRC $14 billion or 6 percent. The combined value of trade between China and these countries accounted for more than half of all China-Africa trade last year. Africa’s main exports to China include minerals, metals, agricultural products, crude oil, and agricultural products.