Nigeria's trade position with the United States swung into positive territory in June 2026, with a ₦797.5 billion surplus that ended a 14-month sequence of monthly deficits. A steep increase in outbound shipments, particularly urea, powered the improvement.
According to an analysis by Nairametrics Research of foreign trade data from the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria's exports to the US reached ₦1.19 trillion in June, while imports stood at ₦395.6 billion. The resulting surplus marked a sharp reversal from the ₦48.69 billion deficit recorded in May.
The turnaround was largely driven by export performance. Shipments to the US climbed from ₦216.48 billion in May to ₦1.19 trillion in June, a month-on-month increase of 451.1 per cent. Over the same period, imports rose by 49.2 per cent, from ₦265.17 billion to ₦395.6 billion.
On a year-on-year basis, exports increased by 190.9 per cent from ₦410.07 billion in June 2025, while imports declined by 49.3 per cent from ₦779.8 billion recorded in the corresponding month last year.
Urea emerged as the main catalyst behind the export surge. Nigeria's urea exports rose by 203 per cent quarter-on-quarter to ₦1.07 trillion in Q2 2026, compared with ₦353.04 billion in Q1. This made urea the country's largest export to the US during the quarter.
Other products also supported export growth, including other petroleum gases valued at ₦78.54 billion, as well as soybean products and natural rubber. Crude petroleum exports, however, declined by 13 per cent to ₦529.31 billion during the period.
Despite the June surplus, Nigeria still recorded an overall trade deficit with the US in the first half of 2026. Imports totalled ₦3.81 trillion against exports of ₦2.91 trillion, leaving a deficit of approximately ₦902.52 billion. The June surplus therefore represents a meaningful monthly improvement, but it does not yet reverse the country's half-year US trade deficit.
